Now or Never
by maispecialk
Summary: Max has been acting weird lately. Jeb and Dr. M have information that can change her life forever. Max has a big decision to make, but will Fang change her mind? *Follows In Max We Trust and Ruthless*
1. Teaser

Hey guys! Yes, I know it's short but this is just a teaser! I'll post the first real chapter after I finish Ruthless. I don't own Maximum Ride

*Prologue*

"I'm not telling her this, Jeb. I can't. You have to explain this to her." Valencia Martinez whisper yelled behind the closed door of her home office. "Valencia, you're her mother. You can explain it better than I can." Jeb argued just as quietly. "I wasn't at The School. I don't know what they did to her there. I don't know how THIS happened." Valencia replied with disgust. "I didn't do this Valencia. Do you honestly believe that I am capable of doing something like this to my own daughter?" Jeb asked with disbelief. "I don't know what you're capable of, Jeb. You understand her biology better than I do. You should tell her." Valencia countered. "We will both tell her. We're both her parents and she'll need all the support that she can get. There is no telling how she will react to this." Jeb sighed with disappointment. "Fine. We'll both tell her. I just hate to do it. I know how much it will hurt her. And Fang." Valencia stated sorrowfully. "She will need to tell Fang. That isn't our place." Jeb countered. "At least we agree on that." Valencia replied smugly.


	2. Catching up

**Hey guys. I still don't own Maximum Ride. :)**

Hi guys. How ya been? Long time, no chat. It's Max by the way. I hope you haven't forgotten me. Actually, I hope you have but still I digress. I guess I should fill you in on our lives for the past 5 or 6 years, huh? Yep, I'm 20 now. I've grown up some. My nickname is still charging off and I'm still paranoid as all get out, but I've made the move into mainstream society. I have been working with the CSM for the past 3 years. I also just finished up my GED and college prep courses.

That's right. Good ol' Maximum Ride is going to sit in a college classroom. Amazing, isn't it? I listened to that fantastic Voice in my head and I'm still working on saving the world. I've decided that I want to be a lawyer. An environmental lawyer to be exact. Who would have thought that anti-establishment Max would grow up to work the system? You can't deny it though, I can argue with the best of them. But I've given it a lot of thought, and decided that this was something that I wanted to do. I was going to bring down evil corporations like Mr. Chu's and make sure they got locked up. Not too shabby, huh?

You're probably wondering what the rest of the gang is up to as well. Fang is still 19. He's turning 20 in a couple of days. Yes, we're still together. No, we never officially got married. We both still wear our rings though, and decided that those were official enough for us, though not everyone agrees. He has a job too. He did some online courses and got his certification for web site design. He designs websites and posts them on the internet. Cool, huh? He can work the hours that he wants to and doesn't have to report to an office or anything. I have to admit the job is perfect for him and he's really good at it. He and I are living together now. We live a few minutes away from my mom in a small 2 bedroom townhome. All in all, we're pretty happy.

Iggy works with a technology company that helps build bombs. Unbelievable, right? He moved out of my mom's too, living in a "bachelor pad". It's a one bedroom apartment between my house and my mom's. The rest of the flock still lives with my mom. Nudge is almost 17, Gazzy is 14, and Angel is 12. Nudge and Gazzy attend the same high school, and Angel is in middle school. They've done really well with normal school and are actually great students.

Gazzy wants to be a chemist one day. Nudge is deciding between public relations or fashion merchandising for college. And Angel has learned to control her powers more now too, so she doesn't hear everyone's thoughts all the time. She can turn it on and off like a light switch. Needless to say, that's easier on everyone.

Ella is in college now too and is studying abroad. She and Iggy still date, but they're not…exclusive, I guess you could say. They both wanted their independence when Ella went to Europe. Everything is pretty much going great right now. We haven't seen Erasers, or Flyboys or M-Geeks or anything in the past few years. And as long as they were gone, nothing could go wrong. Right?


	3. Have fun Or not

**Author's note and Disclaimer: Okay guys, I know you guys are used to kick butt action type stories from me. Just so that I can't say I misrepresented myself, this ain't one of 'em. It's fluffy, mushy, and probably pretty boring if you're expecting a kick butt action story. Don't say you haven't been warned. **

**Secondly, I am aware this is in the M section but there's no lemons or anything like that in here. Spoiler: It mentions sex, so I put it in M to have my butt covered. Got it? Good. **

**Third: Trying different formatting stuff. Love it? Hate it? Don't mess with it? Let me know!**

**Finally, I don't own Maximum Ride. Duh. **

It was 5 am and I was wide awake. It was like all those years ago when I would go from dreaming of fuzzy unicorns or something to being ready to kick butt at a moment's notice, but this was different. "Fang?" I whispered next to me. Yes, we live together. Yes, we share a bed and no, it's none of your business what we have or have not done in it. Nosy perverts. What can I say, but quote the voice? You can't stay kids forever. And with the way I was feeling right then, it had nothing to do with being a kid.

"Max? Is everything okay?" Fang asked quickly, but still halfway dazed.

"Yeah, but I can't sleep again." I said, my tone thick with implication. I started tracing his chest with my finger, hoping he would get the hint.

"Max, it's 5 in the morning and you need your rest. Go back to sleep." He said, yawning.

"I can't." I said, annoyance dripping through. Didn't I just say that I couldn't sleep?

"Max, if you're still up in an hour, wake me up and I'll consider it. Now try and get some sleep. Please."

He answered, not giving in. I debated about whether I should go in the living room and watch television, or simply lie in the bed and hope for the best. I did feel sleepy but for some reason my body wasn't giving in. Too bad this was only the beginning.

I eventually fell back asleep. It was almost an entire hour later. I twisted, turned, and flipped before I finally slept like a rock. When I woke the clock said 10:48 am. I woke up and got started with my day ignoring the fact that I had slept half of it away. I had a lot to do today, so I needed to get going. I showered quickly and got dressed.

"She lives." I heard, turning to see Fang grin when I walked into our kitchen.

"Hey." I said quickly, grabbing a soda and a bagel out of the fridge.

"What do you have planned for today?" I asked before I raced out of the door.

"Angel and Nudge are taking me shopping for my birthday. " He replied, rolling his eyes. He was pretending like he hated it but I know he was actually a little excited. Nudge and Angel had practically grown up like his own daughters. He still made sure that he was at Mom's house when every one of Nudge's dates came to pick her up. He might never say it out loud, but I knew he was happy that he was getting to spend time with them. Not seeing the Flock on a daily basis was weird for both of us.

"You?" He asked in return, derailing my train of thought.

"I've got to go sign up for classes and run some errands for CSM." I replied, walking back towards Fang to give him a hug before I left for the day.

"Dinner?" He asked.

"Yeah. Let's just order pizza or something tonight. We're going to Mom's tomorrow night." I answered, wrapping my arms around him.

"Be careful." He said before letting me go. Still the same ol' protective Fang.

"Have fun." I replied with an evil grin. If he was shopping with Nudge and Angel he would need all the help that he could get.


	4. The nothing fight

**Still trying this new formatting thing. Can't decide if I like it or hate it. I still don't own maximum Ride, but you knew that already.**

I flew to the college where my mom worked at and landed cautiously on the outskirts of campus. Thanks to some creative string pulling and a few "minority" scholarships I had a full ride and I could still work part time, helping the CSM. I enrolled as a new student and managed to sign up for my first semester of classes when I went to go visit my mom. Sure enough, there she was in her office, grading some papers online.

"Max! What a surprise!" She said, wrapping me into a tight hug.

I know it's been a few years but I still get really excited when I see my mom. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that I was really her daughter.

"I signed up for all of my classes. I start on Wednesday." I beamed proudly.

"That's great, Max. I'm so happy for you. You want to go to lunch to celebrate?" She asked, getting up from her computer.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm supposed to meet Iggy anyway. I'm going to help him with the cake for tomorrow. We're still set for that, right?" I asked.

We were throwing a small surprise party for Fang tomorrow night. Nothing spectacular, just dinner and cake. Anything more than that and the rest of the flock would be running for their lives.

"Absolutely. I have three lasagnas ready to go for tomorrow. You and Ig have the cake. Ella sent a present from Europe. She apologizes that she can't be there. How about you? Do you have everything you need?" She asked, her tone offering help.

"I've got it all taken care of. I think he's going to like his gift." I smirked.

"I'm sure he will sweetie. You and Ig call me if you need any help with the cake, okay?" Mom asked squeezing me around the shoulder. I relaxed my wings for just a second, prepping them for flight again soon. "By the way, Max. I forgot to tell you. Jeb's coming to dinner tomorrow night too." My mom added before I walked out.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but as much as I hated it, Jeb had gotten better. Would he ever get a Father's Day card from me? Absolutely not. However, the urge to rip his head off and use it as a bowling ball isn't nearly as pressing anymore. See, I have grown up some.

I went home, surprised to find Fang still there. "When are you meeting Angel and Nudge?" I asked, sweeping through the front door.

"3. Angel doesn't get out until then." He answered, taking a bite of his sandwich. Peanut butter and grape jelly. My favorite. I snuck up to him, getting ready to sneak a bite when he wasn't looking. Fat chance. He had been around Gazzy too long. He moved the sandwich as my teeth snapped together. He sat on the couch with a bottle of water and two other sandwiches. I sat next to him, eyeing his sandwiches.

"No." He said simply, taking another bite. "Please?" I asked. He shook his head. I tried three more times but he said no at each one. I sighed and got up to fix my own sandwiches which were gone in a matter of minutes.

"You still have a couple of hours before you have to meet Nudge and Angel." I said, sneaking closer to him on the couch.

"What are you getting at, Max?" He asked directly. "Obviously nothing." I shrugged with disappointment. I heard him sigh aloud.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I'm fine." I said simply, wondering where the question came from.

"How many times in the past week?" He asked, skeptically.

I blushed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "By the past week do you mean the past 5 days or the past 7 days?" I asked trying to distract him.

"I mean the past 7 days." He answered with exaggerated patience, awaiting my response. I started counting. "I'm saying it's more than normal, Max. A lot more than usual. Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I feel fine. I have stuff I need to do anyway." I said, getting up quickly, ready to slam my way out of the door.

"Max, calm down. It's okay. I'm not complaining. I'm just worried." He said, noticing my mood change. I noticed it too, but couldn't do anything to stop it.

"I'm busy. Don't worry about it. I'll see you for dinner." I replied grabbing my backpack and closing the door behind me. I had to make a conscious effort not to slam it behind me as I left.


	5. Get out of the kitchen

**Here's where the fun starts, LOL. Don't hate me guys! Oh yeah, I don't own Maximum Ride. **

I knocked on Iggy's door a few minutes later, still in a foul mood. (Haha! A little bird humor there for ya!)

"Hey Max." He said, wiping his hands with a kitchen towel. He must have been doing dishes.

"Hey Ig." I mumbled.

"You okay?" He asked, hearing the annoyance in my voice.

"I'm fine." The last thing I wanted was to talk about this with Iggy, of all people.

"Sure you are. Let me know if you want to talk at all." He offered, heading to the counter.

"I'm fine. Let's just get started."

"Okay. I need you to go through and measure the ingredients. Remember little t is teaspoon, which is the little one. Big T is tablespoon. You know how to work the cups, right?" He asked, handing me a set of measuring cups.

I sighed in frustration. "I'm not a total idiot."

"I don't know what happened with you and Fang, but don't take it out on me, okay?" Iggy asked with a little irritation in his voice.

"Sorry."

"No problem. After that I just need you to hand me the ingredients in the order they're listed. I'll take care of the hard part from there, got it?" He asked. I agreed and got to work. We had the layers in the oven within a half an hour.

"I already made the frosting. The only thing I have left is the mousse filling. Can you separate those ingredients for me?" Iggy asked, pointing to the ingredients on the counter. I started working on those ingredients before Iggy maneuvered to the next conversation. "You feel like talking about it?" He asked, referring to the reason that I was angry.

"I can't Ig. Thanks anyway." I sighed, adding all of the ingredients to the bowl and handing it to him.

"That bad, huh? So, either it's really bad or really embarrassing." He deduced, still working without missing a beat.

"Iggy, really. I don't want to talk about this." I replied.

"Oh. It's about that again." He realized, comprehension dawning. I was thankful he wasn't touching my face. He would know exactly how red it was if he did.

"How do you know about that, anyway?" I asked angrily.

"Guy talk, Max. He just said you weren't being yourself. He was worried." Iggy answered, throwing the bowl into the refrigerator to sit.

"I'm fine. You should all just leave me alone." I spat with frustration.

Tears were threatening to leak. Why? I have no clue. Regardless, I choked back a small sob, getting ready to head for the door. I knew Iggy would have noticed the sound.

"Wow, Max. That's really not like you. Are you sure you're okay?" Iggy asked, touching my face to see if I was actually crying.

I felt my face warm. Iggy was touching my face and feeling the tears leak down. It was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, at least for me. Sure, Iggy had touched my face before. He would check for injuries, or see if I was smiling or laughing along with him, but this was different. Nevertheless, Iggy seemed unfazed and business like just like usual. I looked at him summoning massive amount of willpower, though I felt myself inching towards him. I wanted to kiss him and that freaked me out in the worst way imaginable. Thank God he was blind otherwise he would have known what was going on. I knew Ihad to get out of there, right then.

"I've gotta go." I stammered, throwing myself out of the apartment as fast as I could.

I had almost kissed Iggy. What WAS going on with me?


	6. Crappy Birthday!

**Crappy Friday guys! Don't know why, just not quite feeling it today. Anyway, here's another chapter. I still don't own Max. **

I exhaled deeply as I hit the skies, feeling much more relaxed. I decided to go to a park close to our house. I still needed to finish Fang's gift and the park gave me a place to do it, free of distractions. I pulled out the black IPOD and my laptop. I started making playlists and putting different songs in each one. The idea was to match the songs to Fang's different moods. That pretty much meant angry songs, scary songs, and kick-butt songs. I still made one more playlist which would be songs that hopefully reminded him of me and him. By the time I finished I realized that the sun was setting and I should probably get home. As mad as I had been with Fang the anger has subsided. Now, I just hope he likes his gift.

"Hey." I said, walking in the door.

"Where have you been? Are you okay?" Fang rushed to my side worriedly.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, setting my backpack down by the front door.

"Iggy called. He said that you guys had met up but that you left in a hurry. He was checking to make sure you were alright." Fang wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"I'll call him. Why don't you go ahead and order a couple of pizzas?" I asked, grabbing my phone and turning it on. I had wanted peace and quiet while I was in the park so I had turned my phone off. "Ig? Yeah. I'm fine. No, everything's good. Is it done? Thanks." I said while making sure Fang hadn't heard the last part of the conversation. He was still ordering the pizza. When he hung up the phone I couldn't help but fling myself at him. I once scoffed at lesser girls for such a thing. *Ahem, Brigid*. Still I threw myself into his chest and stared up at him. "Sorry I worried you." I said, leaning in for a kiss, which he returned. It seemed like I had apologized a lot lately. Two in one day had to be some kind of personal record. I walked into the bedroom, and looked at the eight shopping bags on the bed.

"Where are we supposed to put all this?" I joked, referring to the new clothes that the girls had bought Fang.

"I'll start using the closet in the guest bedroom. Your t-shirts take up too much room, anyway." Fang smirked.

I woke up the next morning still not quite feeling like myself. I was in a pretty crappy mood even by my standards, which sucked since it was Fang's birthday. "Happy birthday. You want breakfast?" I asked with a faint smile, trying to cheer up for his sake.

"Not if you're cooking." He replied with a smirk. He was still the same ol' quiet yet sarcastic Fang. Some things never changed and I couldn't help but be thankful for that. We had a nice quiet breakfast together at a restaurant near our house.

"I have a lot of stuff to do today. I'll meet you at my mom's around 6?" I asked. He nodded in agreement and we parted ways. I did have some work to do for the CSM today but most of my errands were birthday related. I needed to pick up the cake from Iggy's, and add a few more songs to Fang's playlists.

I started at my mom's school. I had to pick up money from her to deposit in the CSM's bank account.

"There you are! Here's the account and the address of the bank. After that I need you to pick up the next shirt order. Do you remember where the shop is?" My mom asked. She was obviously stressed as I didn't get a "Hey, how ya doing?" from her. I nodded, remembering where the shop was. "John has some water samples that he needs to get to me too, but he's leaving for a conference in Nevada at 5. Is there any chance that you could meet him and get them for me?" She asked frantically while shuffling through papers. The joys of being a college professor.

"Yes, Mom. Any dry cleaning I need to pick up? Do I need to take Total and Akila to the groomers while I'm at it?" I was trying to make a joke but I realized my tone was a little sharper than it should have been.

My mom finally froze and looked at me. "Are you okay?" She asked suspiciously.

"I'm fine. Sorry." I muttered. I may have grown up some but apologies weren't any easier for me than they used to be.

"Iggy said you were acting funny the other day. I have a few minutes if you want to talk." My mom said, sitting calmly in her chair.

I just got angrier when she mentioned the other day with Iggy. "Iggy just needs to keep his mouth shut! I'm fine!" I shouted. The reaction may have been a little severe but I didn't want to think about what _almost _happened the other day.

My mom's look of suspicion just got worse. "What's going on with you?" She asked worriedly.

I took a deep breath trying to cool my temper. "I'm fine, Mom." I said, not wanting to talk about anything.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"I'm fine! I just want everyone to leave me alone!" I replied heading for of the door, ready to get in the air.

"Max. Let me run some tests. Something's not right. I can tell." She said softly.

"I'll be back with the samples." I said running out of her office before I lost my temper worse than I already had. Luckily, when I brought the samples back she was teaching a class. I was pretty sure the conversation wasn't over though.


	7. Testing, testing

I ran all of my errands for the CSM and started to head to Iggy's. I called him to find out where he kept the spare key. "Hello?" He asked, picking up his cell phone on the third ring.

"Hey blabber mouth." I said accusingly.

"Hi Max. I guess you talked to your mom. " He replied coolly.

"I did and now she wants to make me a partially human pin cushion." I couldn't help but notice how bitter my voice was.

"Max, it's your mom. You know it won't be that bad. Just get checked out."

"Where's the stupid key, Iggy?" I asked, getting to the point. "Underneath the red shingle on top of the roof." He sighed in defeat. "Thanks. See you tonight." I said, hanging up on him before he could return to the subject.

I had finished all of the things on my to do list with 15 minutes to spare. I was back at my mom's house listening to music and setting the table. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were upstairs doing homework, or at least pretending to be. My mom had just made it home, so she was upstairs changing. Iggy walked in at 5:54 and Fang was supposed to be there at 6. We'd all gathered in the kitchen. Luckily there had been no more weird moments to send me over the edge. I knew Iggy and my mom were right. I wasn't being myself, but I didn't want to think about anything being wrong either. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, you know.

"He's coming!" Angel squealed excitedly. We waited as we heard the lock click from his key. "Surprise!" We yelled at once. He jumped a little but didn't assume a defensive stance. Maybe we were getting soft in our older ages. He pasted on a small smirk. "Thanks guys." He said quietly. Fang hated attention.

"Happy birthday." I told him again squeezing him lightly.

"Thank you." He said, kissing the top of my head.

Jeb walked in a couple of minutes later. "Sorry, I'm late." He mumbled. "Happy birthday, Fang." He said more clearly. "Thanks." Fang mumbled in reply. They still didn't get along that great, but they tolerated each other. "Jeb, help me pull these pans out please." My mom called from the oven. It was time for chow!

Every single pan full of lasagna had been devoured, even scraped. It was delicious. We all sat in silence knowing that we couldn't move onto cake. Yet. I cleared the plates from the table and sat the cake in the middle, grabbing some smaller plates and clean forks to go with it.

"The cake looks really good, Iggy." Mom said.

"Thanks! I probably shouldn't tell you this before you eat it, but Max helped."

"Oh." Disappointment rang through the table.

"I'm sure it's delicious." Fang said, sliding his arm around me.

"I hope so. It's your cake." I smiled slightly. We finally got to the cake and I have to admit, I didn't screw it up. I was pretty proud of myself. The day started out lousy but ended up being pretty good.

"Ig, have you talked to Ella at all?" Nudge asked him.

"She called last week. She's in Barcelona right now." He said between bites.

"When is she coming back?" Angel asked.

Iggy choked a little on the cake, trying not to laugh. "She said she would come back for the next funeral or wedding."He smiled. The whole table looked at Fang and me expectantly.

"We're not talking about this." My voice rang with decision. I hated it when they ganged up on us like this. Of course Angel and Nudge wanted Fang and I to "get married" and have a real ceremony. Nudge has even bought bridal magazines. I passed them along to Iggy and Gazzy to use for their bombs.

"Please, Max? You'd look so beautiful! And we could pick flowers…oh and bridesmaid dresses!" Nudge started. Unfortunately for her, the stress of the day had taken its toll on me.

"Nudge! Shut it!" I screamed, much louder than was necessary. I felt the whole table look at me in shock.

"Max, what's wrong?" Angel asked mentally.

"If one more person asks me that…! I'm fine! " I yelled.

My mom stood up from the table. "Then prove it, Max."

My mom had dared me to let her run some tests. She said if everything came out normal no one was allowed to ask me what was wrong. So of course, I did it just to prove that I was right. Fang held my hand while I looked away from the needle. To this day none of us did well with needles or syringes.

"I'm sorry." I murmured to him quietly. I felt so guilty, like I had ruined his birthday.

"Don't apologize. I'm just glad you're doing this. I want to make sure you're okay." He said before noticing my glare. "Yes, I know. You're fine. But I'd rather have the test results to prove it." He said.

"All done." My mom told me.

"When will we know?" Fang asked.

"I can do it now, if you want. It could be done in…15, maybe 20 minutes." She shrugged.

"I'll help." Jeb offered, coming in.

"I'm going to go into my old room." I said, walking out. Fang was following behind me.

"Don't want to see them yet?" He asked, knowing me way too well. I nodded. He grabbed my hand and followed me into the room that I once shared with Ella.

I closed the door behind me and stretched out on the bed. Fang lay down on the bed next to me and started rubbing my back. I was embarrassed before we came in but my mood was changing now.

"Fang?" I asked quietly.

"No." He answered automatically.

"It's your birthday." I pouted.

"It is. And I say no, for right now. Maybe when we get home. " He said again. His voice was just as solid as mine when he made decisions. He wasn't wavering.

"Why not?" I shot, hoping he didn't notice the hurt in my voice.

It was Fang so of course he did. "Max, not here." He explained.

"Ugh!" I sighed in frustration, heading for the window.

"No. You're staying here." He told me, grabbing my arm. Of course I was really leaving now. I snatched my arm, trying to loosen his grip. It didn't work.

"The tests will be done any minute. Just tough it out for me. It's my birthday." He reminded me. I felt bad enough for what I did at dinner, so I just sat there next to him while he held my hand.


	8. Tik Tok

"I'm not telling her this, Jeb. I can't. You have to explain this to her." Valencia Martinez whisper yelled behind the closed door of her home office. "Valencia, you're her mother. You can explain it better than I can." Jeb argued just as quietly. "I wasn't at The School. I don't know what they did to her there. I don't know how THIS happened." Valencia replied with disgust. "I didn't do this Valencia. Do you honestly believe that I am capable of doing something like this to my own daughter?" Jeb asked with disbelief. "I don't know what you're capable of, Jeb. You understand her biology better than I do. You should tell her." Valencia countered. "We will both tell her. We're both her parents and she'll need all the support that she can get. There is no telling how she will react to this." Jeb sighed with disappointment. "Fine. We'll both tell her. I just hate to do it. I know how much it will hurt her. And Fang." Valencia stated sorrowfully. "She will need to tell Fang. That isn't our place." Jeb countered. "At least we agree on that." Valencia replied smugly.

*Max POV*

I heard a small knock on the door. "Honey, can you come in the office?" My mom asked nervously. Oh God, I was dying.

"What's wrong?" Fang asked automatically. "It's okay. We just need to talk to Max first." My mom said calmly, even though I could tell something was wrong. "It's okay. I'll be right back." I said to him. I followed my mom into the office where she and Jeb were waiting. "What's wrong?"

"Max, have you noticed anything weird besides the mood swings and irritability lately?" My mom asked. I thought about it but couldn't remember anything. I shook my head.

"There hasn't been anything abnormal? No changes in eating or sleeping patterns?" She pressed on. I couldn't remember anything…except…I felt my face turn red. I looked at my Mom, not wanting to say it out loud.

"What is it?" She asked, urgency in her voice.

"I've been…not sleeping as well. And I've been…"I trailed off unable to finish my sentence with my biological parents in the room. This was so embarrassing. "There's been an increase in…"I fell silent. "Sexual activity?" Jeb asked, being incredibly direct. I nodded my head guiltily to both of them, completely embarrassed.

"You're not on any medications, sweetie? No pills or anything?" My mom confirmed for a 3rd time. I shook my head no again. My mom looked at Jeb and sighed. "You were right." She said quietly.

"Max, why don't you sit down? We have something to tell you, but it's difficult to explain." Jeb said quietly. I had to be dying for them to be acting like this. I braced myself for the worst. I needed to check the mirror for my expiration date.

"Honey, remember when you and I had that talk right after you and Fang went on vacation?" My mom asked. Dear God, how could I forget? The most painful, awkward conversation of my life. Almost. "Yes." I answered hesitantly.

"Max, you know that your body is different from a normal human's right?" Jeb asked. I nodded again not saying anything. "Max, I looked at your hormone levels. They aren't normal. Even for you." Jeb said.

"What's wrong with me then?" I asked with frustration wanting to get to the point.

"Honey, have you ever heard of a biological clock?" My mom asked quietly. I shook my head not knowing what in the Hell she was talking about. "Whenever women get older their bodies get them ready to have a baby, because they're getting close to the age where they can't have them anymore. It's a last ditch effort to have a child before a woman can no longer have a baby." My mom explained.

"I don't get it." I said. "Max, your body is going through some changes right now and it's going to be getting worse." My mom said sympathetically.

"What's going on?" I asked. Mom and Jeb just looked at each other, having a difficult time with this subject. "Max, have you ever thought about having kids?" Mom asked.

"Kids?!" I squealed.

I was only 20 years old!

"Max, what your mother is trying to tell you is that due to your DNA your biological clock is ticking incredibly faster than a normal humans. For a lack of better words, your body is trying to get you pregnant. " Jeb supplied.

"What?! Why?! What does that mean?" I asked.

"Max, if you ever want to have kids you need to do it. Soon. You've got a year left, maybe two before it will be impossible. I'm sorry sweetie, but it looks like it's now or never."


	9. Too serious to give a funny title

**Okay, no one said anything about the formatting differences so I'm going back to my old way until someone tells me otherwise, and even then I can't promise that I'll change 'cuz this is how the story was originally written. Still don't own Max or Fang, but you knew that already. And Fan Fiction is making my night better. Yay!**

I stormed out of the house ignoring every face that I saw between the office and the back door. I flew as fast as I could without thinking about where I was going. Before I realized what I had done I found myself in the desert, at the spot where Fang and I used to go. I thought to myself about what to do. I had the Flock. They were like my own kids to me. Still when I pictured my future, I guess I had wanted my own, though I had never admitted it to myself. It looked like that was never going to happen for me now. I wasn't ready to have kids. I heard quiet footsteps besides me. Fang. "What did they tell you?" I asked, not even bothering to look up. He sat down next to me. "They told me I needed to talk to you. They wouldn't tell me anything else." He answered quietly. "That was decent of them." I muttered, actually grateful. "Max, what's going on?" He asked. I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about this. My mind was made up. If it was now or never, I was going for never. "I don't want to talk about it." I answered honestly. "Max, just tell me…Are you…dying?" He asked painfully. I tried not to laugh at him. It would have just been rude. "No, Fang. I'm not dying. That I know of." I replied honestly. I heard him sigh in relief. "What is it then? I can deal with anything else." He told me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "_You_ can deal with anything else." I said. Me? Probably not. "Please." Fang looked me in the eyes and I knew I had to tell him. My decision would affect him too. He would probably want kids. He should know. "Basically I've been acting weird because my body hates me and wants me to have a baby." I said quickly, putting my head on my arms, refusing to meet his eyes. "Oh." He said simply. I looked at him. He didn't get it. "Basically if I want to have a baby I need to do it within the next year to 2 years and considering it takes a normal person 9 months to give birth, I'm running out of time. So, it looks like The Flock will be my only kids." I said. He understood a little bit better now. "You don't want kids?" He asked confused. "It doesn't matter." I sighed, wanting to escape this conversation as soon as possible. I stood up to leave, but he grabbed my wrist again. "Max, this is serious. We need to talk about this." He said. "I made my decision. There's nothing to talk about." I said trying to run off and escape but he held my wrist. "What about my decision?" He asked.

Oh God, I didn't want to have this conversation. I knew he wasn't going to let me go until he got his say though. I sighed in defeat and sat back down on the sand. "Max, when you think about our future, what do you see?" He asked. I had never really thought about our future. I lived for the day usually, because I was never sure if I would make it to the next. I just now figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up. Normal kids did that when they were 10. "I don't know." I answered honestly. "Do you see yourself being with me?" He asked directly. I would never admitted it if he hadn't asked. I nodded though. I couldn't imagine my life without him in it. Sappy and pathetic, huh? "You never thought about kids?" He pressed on. "Not when I was 20!" I screamed back. "Then when?" He asked remaining calm like only Fang can. I remembered the time when he told me to wait 10 years or so. I was about 14 then. "I was thinking 25 or 26." I answered quietly. I would never have talked about this with anyone else, but I knew I could with him. The curiosity was killing me. "What about you?" I asked. "Sooner. I was thinking 23, or 24." He answered honestly. I couldn't believe he had thought about it. I never would have guessed. "Do you really not want kids, or are you just scared to do it earlier than you had planned?" He asked. I had to be honest with him, if no one else. I loved The Flock but if there was one thing that I learned from them it was how to be a mom. And as much as I complained or groaned about it when I was younger, I loved it. I loved them and they weren't even my biological children. "I did." I answered honestly. "Then we just need to speed up our plans." He smiled mischievously.


	10. Jennifer Aniston is not part bird

**I don't own Max and that's a shame. :)**

I was nervous. There were no other words for it. We flew back to my mom's house. I knew The Flock would still be there, worried about me. They'd want to know what was wrong. My mom and Jeb were in the backyard waiting on us. "Did you guys make a decision?" She asked nervously. I looked at Fang who nodded in encouragement. "I think we are." I said quietly. I saw her smile and I felt better immediately. I was scared she would be mad or upset. "I think you're making the right decision. Though I do think you should entertain the idea of that wedding more." She said seriously. I looked at Jeb. "We'll do our best to help. If there seems to be any danger though we may need to enlist outside help." Jeb said warningly. I looked at Fang and we both nodded in understanding, hoping that it never came to that. Jeb took me by surprise, grabbing my shoulders. "I'm happy for you, Max. I know you hadn't planned on this, but I know you'll do great." He whispered in my ear. I was still a little frozen when Jeb let go. "You will do great. You're going to be the best mom ever." Fang laughed, with a little nervousness. I was scared beyond belief.

We walked into the house to see The Flock sitting down eating more cake. Angel's eyes lit up. She had read my mind. "Is it true?" She asked excitedly. Fang and I looked at each other debating whether we should tell them or not. They would find out eventually one way or the other. It would happen to them eventually too. Sometimes being a bird-kid sucks. I nodded with an embarrassed smile. "OMG!" Angel squealed. "What?! The wedding?!" Nudge asked, getting excited, though she didn't know why. "Even better!" Angel squealed. "What is it?" Gazzy asked. "We're going to get a little brother or sister." Angel smiled, making Bambi eyes. "Oh my god. Can the world survive another one of you?" Iggy asked with a smile. He got up out of his chair and hugged us both. "Congratulations guys." He said. "Woah! Hold up. It's not like it's already happened. There are some things that you guys need to know before you get too much older." I said, looking at Angel and Nudge. I feared having this talk with Angel. It would be like explaining the birds and the bees to my own daughters and that thought scared the living crap out of me. They nodded in understanding. "Basically, I'm getting too old to have kids." I explained sadly to all of them. "What?! But Jennifer Aniston's trying to have a baby and she's way older than you!" Nudge said. "Jennifer Aniston is not part bird, either sweetie. We don't know why but for some reason it speeds things up a little for us." I explained sadly. Angel and Nudge looked thoughtful. "You still have a good long while to think about it. Sorry, I had to be the guinea pig to tell you the bad news." I said. They shrugged, not realizing how quick 20 or 21 would be here. They'd find out eventually. "Is that why you wigged out on me yesterday?" Iggy asked. "Another perk of being a mutant freak. Sorry about that." I apologized. "Phew! Thank goodness. For a second yesterday I could have sworn you were going to kiss me. That's just gross." Iggy laughed, while the whole room followed. Fang and I just looked at each other. "Yeah, it is gross Ig. Thanks." I said, trying not to be insulted, though I knew perfectly well what he meant. Kissing him would have been so…wrong. "I think we're going to call it a night guys. Thanks again." Fang said, nodding towards his gifts. "Hehehe. We know what you're going to do." Iggy laughed, until I punched him in the back of the head.


	11. MotherDaughter bonding time

**Warning! I'm a filler chapter! But I might be kinda funny **** I don't own Maximum Ride. The end. **

As I was sitting in my general English class I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I had a new text message. _Can we do lunch?_ It was my mom. Cool. I never got to have lunch with her, because she was always so busy. We were both on campus and she probably wanted to see how my first couple of classes had gone. _Sure. I'll meet you in your office._ I replied, hitting send. Half an hour later I went into my mom's office to see her at her computer, inputting grades again. She looked a lot less stressed than the last time I had seen her here. "Hey, Mom. How's it going?" I asked, leaning against the door. "Hey! Give me two seconds and we can get out of here." She smiled, typing in a few last letters and hitting save.

"Any cravings?" My mom smirked, locking her office door behind her. "I'm not pregnant, Mom." I said, rolling my eyes. "Give it time. It's only been a week." She told me with a smile. I couldn't believe my mom actually wanted me to have a baby. But I guess if it's now or never she'd pick now. "How about B.J.'s? Pizza?" She offered. "Sounds good to me." I answered. We rode silently to the restaurant and seated ourselves near a large glass window. "How have your classes been so far?" Mom asked, sipping her Diet Coke. "So far, so good. I have my first paper due next week." I sighed. Maximum Ride, an eloquent writer? I think not. "You'll do great. You can always take it to the English lab and have them review it before you turn it in." She reminded me. I'd definitely have to do that, for the first one at the very least. "Thanks. I will."

We sat in silence for a moment, and I knew that could only mean one thing. Mom had something she wanted to talk to me about. "What is it, Mom?" I asked. She seemed reluctant to talk about whatever it was, meaning it probably wasn't good…but probably was important too. "Max, I think you should go see a doctor. An ob-gyn." She said quietly. "Why?" I asked, trying not to let anger seep into my voice. My mom knew how I felt about doctors. Why would she even suggest it? "Hear me out, Max. I have a friend, Allison McKinley. We went to undergrad together. I've known her for years. She's my doctor too. If Jeb and I can't manage the delivery on our own, she's who I would like to bring in to help. I trust her, and I think if you gave her a shot you would too. But before it comes to any of that I think we should go in, just to get checked out first and so you can meet her." My mom explained. "Why wouldn't you and Jeb be able to do it?" I asked suspiciously. To my surprise my mom laughed. "Honey, you have too much faith in me. I'm a vet, not a real doctor. And that…" She said, pointing inconspicuously down below "is not my area of expertise." She smirked. I couldn't help but laugh at her. I had the best mom ever. "Will you just give it a shot? If you get creeped out or feel uncomfortable I promise, you won't have to go back. But I think this is our best option for the baby, Max." She said. "I'm not pregnant yet!" I whisper screamed at her, feeling the need to remind her. "Just think about it!" She whisper yelled back, clearly mocking me. We both laughed and I agreed to think about it. In the mean time, pizza was up!


	12. With or without wings

**Not a filler chapter! Yay! Some people already saw this coming but I added my own little spin to it. Anyway, enjoy. I don't own Max. But you knew that already. **

I gave it a couple of days and talked to Fang. He agreed with my mom that I should go see the doctor. I could handle my own if things went badly and it was a set up. The only downside was mom wanted to go with me and I would have to worry about getting her out too, if I were attacked. When I told her that though, she just laughed at me. "It's a doctor's office…not a military war zone. It will be fine." She reassured me, as we were walking down the hall to the office.

I'll spare you the details of the intake but I can tell you that I was subjected to peeing in a cup and wearing a hospital gown all in one day. Joy. I was introduced to Dr. McKinley's nurse, Lauren. She didn't seem so bad. A little on the ditzy side maybe, but seemed okay enough. Definitely didn't qualify as an Eraser. Then I got to meet Dr. McKinley. "Hey Val!" I heard her laugh as she and my mom hugged like they were old friends…oh yeah, they were. Dr. McKinley had dark blonde shoulder length hair. Excessively hairy? Nope. Extra long canines? Negative. She wasn't an Eraser at least. She was wearing a white lab coat, so there was still a good chance that she could be evil. "You must be Max." She grinned. I nodded silently, gulping, wondering what this lady knew about me and had planned.

"Nice to finally meet you. Val said that you would be pretty nervous about this and I can assume she's right by the death grip you have on my examining table." She laughed. I guess I hadn't noticed. The finger imprints weren't too obvious . "Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, Max? How are you different than normal humans?" Dr. McKinley asked in a whisper. She knew she was in on a secret. I felt instinct take over and my mouth shut with finality. "I promise you can trust me." Dr. McKinley offered. "Why should I trust you?" I asked with narrowed eyes. To my surprise, Dr. McKinley laughed at me. "We used to be roommates. Let's just say I have enough old pictures to blackmail her for days." My mom explained with a smirk. "Sweetheart, your mom has more dirt on me than I could ever get on you. With or without wings." Dr. McKinley smiled. I couldn't help but laugh.

Mom stayed out of visual range, holding my hand while Allison did the exam. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience but Allison tried her best to make me comfortable. We were on a first name basis before I left. "Well, I got your test results back and you aren't pregnant." She confirmed as I got dressed. "What do you think?" My mom asked as I pulled my shirt over my head and tucked in my wings. "There are definite differences between your system and a regular human's. Needless to say a pregnancy would be complicated…but not unmanageable. There would just have to be more frequent monitoring and better pre-natal care." Allison explained. "There is one other thing, I should probably tell you, Max." Uh oh. "Because the other part of your DNA is avian there is a good probability that when you menstruate, you're releasing more than one or two eggs per cycle." Allison stated. "Oh." I heard my mom say. That was obviously not something she had thought about. I didn't know what that meant though. "So?" I asked, prodding for explanation. "Max, when you do get pregnant you'll probably have more than one baby." Ack!

"We have to talk." Fang had just closed the door behind him and stopped in his tracks when he heard the dreaded words. I put down my English book and motioned for him to sit beside me on the couch. "Are you…?" He trailed off. "No." I answered. "You went to the doctor, though?" He asked. "Yeah. Not evil. Not really anyway. But I think we should reconsider this." I said. "Why?" Over the past couple of weeks we had actually gotten pretty excited about the idea, at least until I heard the news today. I explained what the doctor had told me about having more than one baby. "Max, if anyone could handle this, it's you. And I'll help out and do whatever I can. Ultimately, it's up to you." He said, but I noticed his eyes holding something back. "What is it?" I asked. He was obviously weighing his options whether to answer or not. Then I understood it. "You're really excited aren't you?" I asked sickly. He nodded guiltily. How could I even think about telling him no when he looked like that?


	13. I'm no EPT

**Hooray for reviews! I don't own Max. **

A month went by. Then two. Then a couple more. I wasn't pregnant. I was pretty much okay with that but I could tell Fang was a little disappointed. Who knew he wanted to be a dad so much? In addition to all that the mood swings were still in effect. We spent New Year's Eve at my mom's house. Mom and Iggy had cooked fajitas and we all sat down for dinner before we started watching the New Year's shows. "Iggy, can you pass the sour cream?" I asked. I felt everyone's eyes turn my way and gaze at me like I'd grown a third leg. "What?" I asked. "Max, you don't eat sour cream." Fang said. Oh yeah…maybe my taste buds were changing. Nothing to get worked up over. "Yes, I do." I lied smoothly. "Since when?" My mom asked suspiciously. "Since now. Hand it over, bird boy." I said to Iggy again. Wanting to keep his limbs intact, he did as requested. "Mom, do you have anymore?" I asked. "There's some in the fridge." She answered but then jerked her head up. "Max, I just opened that one. Did you just use the whole thing?" she asked in amazement. "Yeah. I guess I did." I had used it all. On two fajitas. I pulled open the door to the fridge and pulled out the extra carton for everyone else. "I've got dishes." I said after everyone finished dinner. I piled up all the plates and utensils, dropping them in the sink and started to work. "I'll help." Fang offered.

"God, Fang. Are you trying to kill me?!" I shrieked as I leaned over to put a plate in the dish strainer. "What?" He asked. He didn't realize that he had placed a knife pointing up in the strainer and I had almost slit my wrist. "Just…nevermind!" I huffed, scrubbing another plate fiercely. Why wouldn't these dishes get clean?! I scrubbed the last plate as hard as I could and put it in the strainer. "Happy now?" Fang asked. My eyes narrowed and I punched him in the arm. As we sat down in the living room, I felt myself getting nauseous. "Gazzy, please. Go outside." I said, holding my nose and stomach simultaneously. "What? I didn't do anything." He said, honesty ringing in his voice. If he didn't…you know, then what was that smell? "What is that smell?" I asked with obvious disgust. "Max, you'd know that smell anywhere. I put cookies in the oven. What's wrong with you?" Mom asked. I sniffed the air again, she was right. Chocolate chip cookies. But why did they smell like toxic waste? I couldn't hold it in any more. I rushed the bathroom and made it just in the nick of time.

Fang knelt down next to me as I hunched over the toilet. That was absolutely disgusting. "You okay?" He asked. I nodded and grabbed my spare toothbrush that I kept at my mom's, scrubbing them viciously and enjoying the taste of mint. "Do you think…?" He asked, trailing off. "Maybe, maybe not." I answered. We made our way back to the living room but I couldn't even sit down when I had to rush back to the bathroom, again. "I'm no EPT guys, but I think congratulations are in order." I heard Iggy smirk.


	14. Just pee on the stick

**Hooray for reviews! I don't own Max. **

When I woke up I realized that I wasn't in my normal bed. I freaked out for a moment but calmed down when I realized that Fang was next to me. We were in the old room that I used to share with Ella. "Morning." He said with a yawn. "Hey." I replied, rubbing my eyes. Why was I so tired? "You missed the ball drop." Fang told me. "Oh sorry." He shrugged. "I kissed you anyway." He answered with a smirk. "Why did we stay here?" I asked. "I couldn't wake you up. I would have been more worried but at least you were snoring, so I knew you were alive." He smiled. Wow, I'm not a heavy sleeper. I must have been exhausted from everything that was going on and hadn't even realized it.

"Are you hungry?" Fang asked, heading for the door. "I…think so." I answered, remembering last night's barf fest with a shudder. We walked into the kitchen, when I realized that Gazzy, Nudge and Angel were probably still asleep. It was a holiday and it was only 9am. They'd probably sleep in. "Where's Mom?" I asked, realizing that she wasn't there. She was up at 6 am all day, every day. Fang shrugged, not answering me. He did know where she was, but he wasn't saying. "Whatever." I muttered, sitting at the dining room table. "Waffles?" He asked, holding up a box. "Sure." He popped a couple in the toaster and leaned against the counter waiting. The toaster popped up, breaking the silence. Fang poured syrup over a couple of waffles and sat the plate in front of me. "Oh God…" I muttered before running back to the bathroom.

I was brushing my teeth again when I heard the front door close. "Fang! I'm back!" I heard my mom call. I opened the bathroom door and saw her standing outside of it. "Good. You're already in the right room. Here." She said, shoving a box at me. I didn't even have to look to know what it was. "What the Hell am I supposed to do with this?" I asked angrily. "Honey, you just pee on the stick." My mom said, patting my back gently. What kind of strange torture is this?! I saw Fang standing outside the door with a smug grin. "I probably have a stomach virus. I hear there's one going around." I lied, trying to maneuver my way out of the bathroom. "You have about 30 minutes before Nudge wakes up. I suggest you pee on the stick and make it quick before she starts knocking on the door." My mom suggested, heading towards her room. I looked at Fang desperately. He pushed me back into the bathroom, closing the door behind us.


	15. Two minutes

**Yay! Document uploader is being a bitch again! Ah well, at least I know how to cheat the system, lol. ****Anyway, I still don't own Max and I kick myself on a daily basis for it. **

Two minutes. One hundred and twenty seconds. I never knew it could last SO long. I stared at the floor, not even daring to look Fang in the face. "Will you PLEASE say something?" He asked, desperation in his voice. Woah. Not what I expected. I just threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his waist. "That works too." He muttered. "How much longer?" I asked, as I started to pace the length of the bathroom. I felt Fang grab my wrist to stop me. "Forty seven seconds." He answered. It had finally hit us. We might be parents…like real parents, not just Flock parents. "Max. We'll get through this, no matter what." Fang said, gripping my shoulder. I nodded, but couldn't help feeling light headed and green. I sat down on the edge of the tub. "Ready?" I asked. He nodded, his jaw set tight. I looked at the test at the end of the tub and then looked at Fang. "MOM!" I yelled.


	16. A deal I wish I could make

**I don't own Maximum Ride. Sad, but true.**

My mom burst through the door seconds later. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" She asked quickly, medical training kicking in. She saw me, sitting on the tub with my mouth dropped open. She saw Fang, staring at me waiting for a response and suddenly 2 and 2 mysteriously equaled 4. "I'll call Allison." She said with a smile. I looked at Fang. I was praying to myself, hoping desperately that he wasn't mad. I stood up. "Are you okay?" I asked. He grabbed me around my waist and spun me around. "Wow." I muttered. I never would have expected that. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked suddenly. "Fang, I'm pregnant. Not breakable." I replied, smiling at him.

"I talked to Allison. She's on call for the holiday. She's at the office all day with Lauren, but they may have to leave if the hospital pages them. She said we could go over anytime we wanted though." Mom smiled at me, cell phone in hand. "Today?" I asked nervously. Mom nodded with a smile. "Okay." I said, dazed. "You should probably eat something, honey. You look kind of pale." Mom said, rubbing my back a little. "I already tried. She didn't even eat a bite before she ran in here." Fang answered. "At least come drink some juice?" Mom asked, leading us to the kitchen. "I'll try." Who would have thought we would see the day Maximum Ride didn't want to eat? I opened the fridge, pulling out a bagel. If I couldn't stomach this, I was doomed to starve for the next nine months. "Do you want to head over when you're done with that?" Mom offered. I nodded, hoping that churning feeling in my stomach wasn't what I thought it was. Too bad it was, and I was off running again.

*Fang's POV*

She was running to the bathroom again. I couldn't help but feel guilty. Sure, Max had agreed to this, but she wouldn't have if not for my insistence. I stood in the hall like an idiot, wondering if I should run after her. I felt Dr. M touch my arm and broke free from wrestling with my decision. "Two, Maybe three months, and then the vomiting will go away. It's normal and Max is tough. She'll be okay." She smiled at me. The fact that it would go away made me feel better, but I still couldn't help but think about Max in the bathroom, wrenching her guts out. I had to go to her. Dr. M patted my shoulder and pushed me down the hall. "Don't beat yourself up too bad." She said quietly as I made my way to the bathroom door.

Max had broken out in a cold sweat and was leaning against the tub. "Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She nodded, but she was pale with her eyes half closed. I put my arm around her shoulders and she curled into my chest. I felt guilt eating me alive from the inside out. Sure, she started it with all her crazy girl hormones, but I had done this to her. She wouldn't be vomiting on a daily basis for the next two to three months if I hadn't…nevermind. "Stop it." She said. I couldn't hear her voice full of determination and almost anger. "I know that look on your face. It's guilt and I'm telling you to stop it, right now." She ordered, regaining her leader tone that she had used with the Flock for so many years. "Stop throwing up and I'll stop feeling guilty." I offered. "I wish that were a deal I could make." She replied regretfully.


	17. Get this show on the road!

**I don't own Max **

*Fang's POV*

We walked down the hall to the doctor's office and I was on high alert. That stupid antiseptic smell was all around us and the walls were stark white. Max and Dr. M may trust this lady but I'm still on edge. I remembered that this stupid, protective feeling would probably get worse as time went on, especially since Max wasn't going to be able to protect herself. Or the baby. Or babies. I took in a deep breath as we opened the door.

"Hi Max!" A skinny girl in scrubs waved from behind a desk when we walked in. "Hey Lauren. Is Allison around?" She asked. "Yep. She's in the back finishing up paperwork. Gotta go through the same deal as last time. Hope you have to pee." She smiled, handing Max a cup. I suddenly had a brand new sympathy for Max that I never had before. "That's fine." She answered, taking the cup. "The good news is there's no gown this time around." Lauren laughed. I heard Max mutter 'Thank God' under her breath as she headed for the bathroom.

After she came back I noticed she had a little more color to her. Dr. M had made smoothies, which luckily Max had been able to keep down so far. "Hey Val. Max!" A lady in a white coat came out and I stiffened when I saw her. Max actually looked a little more relaxed when she saw her which was really weird. I saw the doctor put her arms out to Max offering her a hug and I stood by absolutely shocked when Max accepted. Wow, she must actually trust these people. Amazing.

*Max's POV*

Allison put her arms out to hug me and I actually accepted. My Maxy-sense wasn't tingling. My mom trusted Allison and Lauren and for some reason, I did too. I hoped I wasn't going soft because I was…you know, knocked up. I saw Fang's widened eyes as he realized that I wasn't on Defcon 5 and he seemed to relax a little. "So what's the deal for today?" I asked Allison as we all headed back to an exam room. "Lauren's running the test right now, but the take home ones are pretty much just as accurate. We'll wait a couple of minutes for the result. Once we get our 'yes', we're going to do an ultrasound and see how far along we're looking at." Allison replied. I noticed she didn't say 'how many' we were looking at. That part was the most frightening. I was pretty sure I could survive one. Two would be pushing it. Three or more…well, I wouldn't even let myself think of that as a possibility. I felt Fang grab my hand when we went into the exam room. As soon as we entered the room the phone on the wall rang and Allison put it on speakerphone. "Well?" Allison asked impatiently. "Congratulations guys!" Lauren giggled on the other line. "Thanks." Fang and I muttered quietly, looking at each other. "Let's get this show on the road!" Allison smiled, snapping on rubber gloves.


	18. How many?

**I don't own Max. Still.**

"Okay Max, I just need you to lay back on the table and get comfy." Allison said, rolling out a big machine. I did as I was told, but looked at Fang apprehensively. I knew that look. It was the 'I've got your back. It's cool' look. Yes, I know all his looks, and they do all have funny labels. Shut up. "I just need you to roll down the waist band of your pants and pull your shirt up so I have access to your belly." Allison smiled, poking me. "This is going to be cold." She warned, taking a tube and spreading the contents on my stomach. She wasn't kidding. When she touched the little wand thingie to my stomach I heard a really loud thump. "What the Hell was that?" I asked, trying to sit up. My mom held me down and smiled. "That was a heartbeat." She beamed at me. I looked at Fang. Shit just got real…so to speak. "So was that." Allison said quickly. "How many?" My mom asked. "Two. So far." Allison replied. My mom and Allison stared at the screen of the ultrasound while Fang and I stared at each other. "Yep. Two. That's it." Allison replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. Two. Just two. I could manage that. I think. "Huh. Twins." Fang remarked, looking more frightened than I had ever seen him look before. Let me put that in perspective for you. Erasers? Nope. M-Geeks? Nothing. Ninja robots? He actually chuckled at those a little bit. In all the times I'd seen Fang go into battle or be tortured by scientists, fear was never something that I saw on his face. Right now? It could have been etched on with a sharpie. The scary part was that I was sure I looked just as scared. "Oh, check that out." Allison remarked looking at the screen. "Wow." Mom muttered. "What is it?" Fang and I asked simultaneously. "I'm pretty sure that's a wing." Allison smiled back.

Total count: 2 babies, 2 heartbeats, 4 wings. Very little wings, but they were there. They were actually more like two little nubs on the babies' backs. I was about 8 weeks along and Allison was surprised that I had just started getting sick or having cravings. She said that because it took so long for that to happen it may go away quicker. Fang and I sighed in relief at the exact same time. "Here's the deal Max. Normally you wouldn't have to come back for a couple of months, but considering this isn't a normal pregnancy, I want you back in two weeks. Agreed?" I nodded reluctantly. "The other thing is if anything happens, I mean ANYTHING, I want a phone call immediately. Got it?" I nodded again. I liked Allison, but she did not seem like a woman I wanted to cross. Ever. Her look turned remorseful before I hopped down. "The other bad news is that I do need to get a blood sample." She said sadly, knowing that having my blood drawn was what I would hate the most. "Fine." I muttered, sticking out my arm. I felt something cold hit my arm. "Just a local anesthetic, so you won't feel anything." She said. I turned my gaze to Fang and we simply stared at each other, both of us hating the sight of needles. "All done." Allison said a second later. "Wow. That was quick." Allison smiled and waved. "See you in two weeks."

Fang and I decided to fly home after the appointment. We agreed to go back to Mom's for dinner later that night. We'd tell the Flock the news then. I flopped back down on our bed, laying on my side even though it was just after lunch time. To my surprise, Fang went into the spare bedroom. "What are you doing?" I yelled into the other room. Instead of an answer, Fang just walked in with his arms full of clothes. "Looks like your t-shirts have to make room. We're going to need that closet." He shrugged. I had never doubted that I was in love with Fang, but if I ever had I would just have to remember that moment. I broke down crying on the bed like…well, a baby. "What's wrong?" He asked, sitting down next to me. "You're going to be such a good dad!" I wailed into his shoulder. Mom had warned me that my hormones would be going haywire and that I might be crying more than usual. I had no idea it would be THIS bad. I eventually accepted the fact that I was crying like an idiot and sobbed myself to sleep for no real reason.


	19. Calm before the storm

**Hi guys! I don't own Max! **

"It's about time you guys got here! We're starving!" Iggy yelled when he heard us come through the door. "Lay off, Ig." Fang warned, keeping his arm around me. I had stopped crying but I was still an emotional wreck for no good reason. This had to be my own personal torture. Iggy had grilled steaks with vegetables and mashed potatoes. For once my stomach didn't lurch and I actually ate my meal in peace! Hallelujah! We all ate dinner silently. That had to be a first with Nudge around, but you could tell everyone had something on their mind and was waiting for someone else to say something first. I was racking my brain, trying to figure out a good way to break the news to everyone even though Iggy had made the unofficial diagnosis last night. After dinner we all went to the living room. "Max?" I heard Fang ask, bringing me back to reality. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts I hadn't realized what was going on. Why wasn't the television on? Why wasn't anyone saying anything? Why did they all look like they knew something I didn't? That's when I saw Mom. She had tears in eyes. Oh my God, what was going on?


	20. The agreement

**I don't own Maximum Ride. Duh!**

"Max?" Fang asked again. I stared him down. Was he really doing this? Now? In front of everyone? The tears had already started pooling. Damn hormones!! He was pulling out a familiar box. When I wasn't fighting for my life or saving the world…that had been the agreement. I wasn't doing either…at the moment. I took a deep breath and accepted the inevitable. Fang was proposing. Right now. He was down on one knee. "Max, you may be mad at me for saying this, but Nudge and Angel are right. We've put this off for way too long. I know you're scared but we've been through so much. We've fought for our lives. We've saved the world. But most importantly, we've stuck together. And I'm telling you right now, I'm not going anywhere. Ever. I'm going to be right here for you for the rest of my life. And them." He said, resting his head on my stomach. "Will you FINALLY marry me?" He asked, opening the box. I hadn't even realized that I was already sobbing. That had to be the longest, most emotional speech that Fang had ever made…and I loved every word of it. But I'd never admit that out loud. I only nodded as the rest of the room cheered. "Wait! Them?!" Nudge screamed over all the cheering. "Geez, Nudge. I'm blind and I saw that coming." Iggy laughed. "Them?!" She repeated. "Oh wait." Iggy realized finally what Nudge was saying.


	21. Any plans for next week?

**I don't own Maximum Ride. Wish I did. :)**

"No." I told Nudge with finality in my voice. "But Max…" She whined. "I said no, Nudge." I repeated. "Please…" She begged. "Nudge." Fang interrupted. She looked at him desperately. "No. And if she has to tell you again, there will be no wedding." Nudge's mouth fell in horror. I contained mine. "I didn't say there wouldn't be a marriage. I said no wedding. Now are you willing to cooperate?" He asked. I sighed with relief while Nudge nodded silently. "Sweetie, I appreciate all of your help and I'm really glad that you're excited, but we're not renting a car. There will not be a dj, a dance floor, or "blush" as an accessory color. We're doing this my way, or it doesn't happen." I countered. She nodded silently again for fear of the wrath of Fang. "You, Ella, and Angel all get dresses. There can be flowers, but I have to approve them. And it's just us. The Flock. Plus Mom, Jeb, and John. That is it. Got it?" I asked sternly. "Okay." She agreed, but I could see the wheels turning in her head. "Where will it be?" Nudge asked. "We've got that." I answered, smiling at Fang. He knew what I was thinking and nodded. The desert. Apparently that was where all major life decisions would be made. "Can we go dress shopping tomorrow?" Nudge asked excitedly, clapping up and down. "We'll see." Classes had started again and I had a project due at the end of the week, but I would manage. She squealed. After she closed the door behind her to head home I glared at Fang. "You've created a monster."

Iggy picked up on the second ring. "I'm not making chicken pot pie again. Three times in one week is enough. You're in need of intervention." He answered. "Hilarious. I'm not calling for food." I replied, though the craving for chicken pot pie had just kicked in. Again. "Can it be? Do you miss me? Just wanted to say hi?" He asked. I laughed. "No. My sister won't pick up when I call, so I'm asking you to do it." I replied. "No need. I talked to her earlier today." Iggy said. I waited on the other end in silence. "She'll be back on Friday." Way to make my week.

I spent most of the night studying and working on my project for my class. I rubbed my temples and lay back in my bed, closing my eyes for a moment. I was really tired, but fighting it to try and keep working. "Come on. Let's go to bed. It's been a busy day." Fang said, pulling back the covers. "I need to keep working." I muttered, sitting back up and typing again. "I'll tell Allison." He threatened. I rolled my eyes in frustration. I saved my work and closed the laptop setting it down by my bed. "I'm serious Max. Remember the agreement?" He reminded me. We had agreed that I would continue with school for this semester, provided I didn't stress myself out. Allison and Mom had blessed the agreement and I continued with my studies, along with planning a wedding and being pregnant. It was stressful but nothing compared to…oh saving the world? I'd survive. I hope. "So about this wedding…when is it?" He asked. "How do you feel about next week?"


	22. Hi honey I'm home

**Hi guys! Miss me? Sorry I haven't been around but I've been sick as Hell and am still not quite feeling up to par. No worries though, I'm on the mend. :) Anyway, the other thing is I'm kinda running out of ideas for this story. I know what I want to do, I'm just not sure how to do it. Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Hope all is well and I shall remind you, that I do not own Maximum Ride. **

After the initial shock of my proposed wedding date (next Friday at sunset), Fang let me plead my case. Nudge couldn't go too crazy with only a week's worth of planning time. Ella would already be in town. And the biggest one for Fang: It was one less stressful thing on my list. "All you and the boys have to do is look good and show up." I smiled. "That's too easy." He smirked. I punched him playfully in the shoulder. John would be coming as mom's date for the wedding, but would also be acting as officiant. He was really involved with his church and had married his niece and her husband last year. (I only know that because mom went as his date to the wedding.) I yawned and finally accepted that I needed rest, falling asleep next to my future husband.

Friday came around and we were ready to pick Ella up from the airport. Iggy, Nudge, and I crammed in Mom's SUV for the drive when something crossed my mind. Someone had been missing this whole time. Someone was missing for my proposal too. "Hey Mom, where's Jeb?" I asked. He often went missing for periods at a time, going to present at conferences and visit other doctors and help with research, but he'd made it sound like he would be around, especially with the whole pregnancy thing. I saw Mom scowl a little. "I don't know, Max. I called him when Fang told me about proposing. He didn't pick up but I left him a message. I thought he would want to be there, as you're his daughter, but he didn't bother to show up." Mom was obviously pretty mad with him about the whole thing. "Have you talked to him since then?" I asked. "I've tried calling but it always goes to voicemail." She answered. "Weird." I muttered.

Jeb had spent the past few years trying to get in good with The Flock and me. He'd even stayed in the same town with us, and came over for dinner when he could, instead of going to some other major university that had offered him a research job. For him to go missing, especially on the night Fang proposed seemed kind of odd. "Do we have time to swing by his place?" I asked Mom, looking at my watch. We still had an hour before Ella's flight came in. Mom seemed surprised, but agreed. Jeb's apartment was on the second floor. I ran up and knocked on the door while everyone else waited in the car. I knocked three times with no response. I tried to look in the windows, but couldn't see past the blinds. I started to head down the stairs to get Iggy. He could pick the lock. I just wanted to make sure everything was in order, we wouldn't touch anything. Before I made it to the staircase I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Hi, honey. I'm home."


	23. Leave it to Iggy

**I don't own Maximum Ride, or anything associated with it. Shucks. **

Dylan. What was he doing here?! "What are you doing here?" There was obviously no filter between my brain and my mouth. "Nice to see you too, Max. How are you?" He asked. Knocked up. Preggo. With child. "Fine." Oh good, that filter is back, keeping me from looking like an idiot. "I wish I could say that I was here to catch up, but I'm afraid we have a problem." He said, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I tensed. Apparently six years hadn't improved his boundary issues at all. Of course, if what he was saying was true, I probably had bigger issues than Dylan at the moment. Surprisingly enough. "I've kept in contact with Jeb over the past few years. We've talked every Tuesday. He never missed once. He missed this week." Dylan explained. Jeb had kept in contact with Dylan this whole time? And hadn't told anyone? What an asshole. And he missed my engagement. He definitely wasn't getting a Father's Day card. "Let me get this straight? Jeb missed talking to you for one week and you decided to come back from…where were you again?" I asked skeptically. "I stayed in Utah after…Nudge left." He answered.

Nudge and Dylan had been at the Day and Night School for about three months before Nudge miraculously reappeared. Turns out she had fallen for Dylan even worse after they had left. She thought he had started feeling the same way…until he got a girlfriend. "I hope you feel like shit about that. You broke her heart. I should break your neck." I said with narrowed eyes, still knowing that I couldn't touch Dylan, even as much as I wanted to. "Max, it wouldn't have worked out anyway." He said sadly. "Why do you say that? You don't know!" I yelled. "I do know that Max, because she's not you."I started to walk back towards the car but Dylan wasn't done. "Jeb wasn't the only reason I came back. I missed you". I resisted the urge to bang my head against the wall.

I got back to the car and grabbed Iggy. I made Dylan wait upstairs so that Nudge wouldn't see him. That would be a sticky issue. "Hey Ig." Dylan greeted. "Hey asshole." Iggy greeted without missing a beat. He didn't say anything but I knew that he was surprised. He knelt down to the keyhole and started working. A second later the door was open. I looked around Jeb's apartment, only to find that everything was in place. It was spotless, but with Jeb it usually was. "Something's not right." Dylan muttered. "Everything's in order. There's nothing ransacked or missing." I began, when I realized what he was saying. It was too perfect. Like no one had been here for days. "You're right". That's when I noticed the laptop on the dining room table. "His laptop is here. He wouldn't have left that." I said. "Max, it's almost…" Iggy started when I looked at my watch. We had to pick up Ella. "Dylan, go back to my mom's house. We'll meet you there in about an hour." I ordered, taking Jeb's laptop with me.


	24. The past repeating

**Writer's block, be gone! HAHAHA! Thanks to EllaBella for letting me blurt this crazy stuff out. For putting up with my insanity, I'm posting another chapter. Holla! LOL. Sorry, it's late and there's a weird ringing in my ear. Anyway, I don't' own Maximum Ride. **

The car ride to the airport was fairly quiet. I hadn't told my mom or Nudge about Dylan and didn't plan on it until we got back to Mom's house. Ella walked through the gate carrying a duffel bag with her. "Iggy!" What the Hell? What am I? Chopped liver? Iggy picked her up and spun her around, only to kiss her the minute that he put her on her feet. Mom and I looked at each other trying not to gag. Nudge toed the ground awkwardly. It would only be worse in a couple of hours when she saw that Dylan was back. "Hi Mom! Hey Max! Nudge!" Ella rambled when she finally broke apart from Iggy. To my total mortification Ella got on her knees and started whispering to my stomach. "Hi guys! It's Auntie Ella! I can't wait to buy you things and baby sit!" She whispered. "Oh, God." I muttered in embarrassment. Everyone else just laughed.

Ella dominated the whole car ride telling us about her awesome trip while she and Iggy held hands in the back seat. She had been so busy talking I had forgotten to warn Nudge about Dylan until we got back. Before she walked in the house I grabbed her. "Hey Nudge, come here for a second." I said, pulling her back from everyone else. "What's up Max? Are you okay?" She asked. Nudge had always been like a little sister to me. The fact that Dylan broke her heart made me want to pummel him to pieces. "Honey, I have bad news for you. I ran into someone at Jeb's." I said, trying to prepare her. "Who?" She asked. Before I could answer he piped up "Hey Nudge." The look on her face was heartbreaking. I was furious for her. As I watched Nudge deck him in the jaw, I shot her a thumbs up.

Fang showed up to my mom's for dinner. "Hi." I said, blocking the entrance to the front door. I hadn't told him about Dylan's return yet, either. "Hi." He replied, trying to maneuver around me. I moved quickly to block the entrance. "Max, why aren't you letting me in?" He asked with narrowed eyes. "We should probably talk." I muttered, but it was no use. Dylan moved behind me. "Hey Fang." He said casually, eating a bowl of ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. That was mine! "What the Hell are you doing here?" Fang yelled, trying again to get in. I let him so that I wasn't shoved to the side. "Nice to see you too. Can't find Jeb." He replied taking another bite. Fang looked to me for explanation. "Apparently Daddy dearest and Dylan have kept in touch over the years. Dylan couldn't reach him and showed up here to try and find him." I whispered. "And you probably just welcomed him back with open arms didn't you? Like you don't have enough to worry about with school, the wedding, and the ba-" I smacked my hand over Fang's mouth. His eyes narrowed while I tried to explain myself. "He doesn't know about any of that. I'm still trying to figure out why he's here." I whispered. "Sure you are, Max. I should have seen it coming. You spent 14 years leading me on, I wonder how long it will take Dylan to figure it out." Fang snapped in a whisper. "What the Hell is going on with you?" I stood there staring at Fang like he was an idiot. Or just not Fang. "Sorry. Just…don't worry about it." He muttered walking past me. Hmm…who did that remind me of?


	25. Something is going on here

**This is for Marisa Catalidi, since she got her computer back and missed the story so much. LOL. I still don't own Maximum Ride. **

Dylan filled us in over dinner about what he had done for the past few years. He had completed his studies at the Day and Night School and completed community college. He planned to start a university soon and go to school to be a vet like my mom. "So, how do we know if Jeb is really missing?" Gazzy asked. "He's really missing. He wouldn't have left his laptop. That reminds me, Nudge can you take a look at it?" I asked. She nodded and started fiddling with it. "Max, this isn't good." Nudge muttered. "What is it?" Dylan asked. She scowled at him, but met my gaze. "He was taken. And it wasn't pretty. His head was bleeding really badly. I can't see who took him though. It was just these guys in all black." She paused for a moment before she continued. "Max, if he didn't get medical attention…" She didn't finish her statement. If Jeb hadn't gotten help he was dead by now.

Maybe it was dinner. Maybe it was what Nudge had just told me about Jeb possibly being dead, but either way I felt nausea taking me over again. I bolted to the bathroom, leaving everyone dumbfounded behind me. "What's wrong with her?" I heard Dylan asked worriedly. "She's fine. Leave her alone." Fang replied coldly. "Is she hurt? Sick? What's going on? And why are you still here, instead of in there with her?" Dylan accused."I'm still here to protect her from you! Jeb disappears and all of a sudden you show up? That's convenient." What was going on with those two?! Yes, I know they don't like each other, but to be at each other's throats like that after 6 years seemed ridiculous at best. I sat on the cold tile floor for another moment, trying to make sure I wasn't going to lose it again. I felt weak, but okay. I pulled myself up, brushed my teeth and headed back to the living room, only to find Iggy holding Fang back and Gazzy restraining Dylan. The pair looked like they were going to kill one another. "Are you okay?" Dylan asked. "Max, are you alright? Do I need to call Allison?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes and looked at them both. "Mom!" I called.


	26. I was too late

**I should be doing homework (yes, even on break. These teachers are evil!), but I don't wanna, so I'm posting another chapter. Oh and that funny ringing in my ears from a couple of chapters ago? Yeah, that was an ear infection and a busted ear drum. I think I deserve a day off. So here we are. I am not James Patterson. Thus, I do not own Maximum Ride. Comprende? **

**Iggy: Comprendo. **

**Muy bien. **

Mom came rushing into the room with Ella on her heels. "What is it?" She asked, taking in the sight in front of her. Fang and Dylan were about to tear each other apart. Again. "Something's not right." I muttered to her. She seemed reluctant, but not exactly skeptical. I needed to prove my point. "Dylan, why did you come back?" I asked with narrowed eyes. "I told you. Jeb didn't check in with me. " He answered. "Why else?" I prodded further. He held his head in shame but answered the question. "I missed you." He mumbled. But it was just the push I needed. Iggy had let down his guard, and Fang had struggled out of his grasp heading towards Dylan. Iggy grabbed one arm and I grabbed the other reaching Fang just in time before he flung himself at Dylan. "Mom, this isn't normal. He wouldn't be happy, but Fang doesn't lose his temper like that." I told her. Fang was usually Mr. Emotionless Rock. Sure, he had loosened up over the past few years, but he still didn't let his temper get the best of him. "And Dylan's been gone almost six years now, and all of a sudden he just wants to come back? " I ask skeptically. "Okay guys, let's go. We have some tests to do." Mom said heading to her office with Dylan and Fang being dragged along.

Mom took Dylan into the office first while I stayed in the hall with Fang. "Max, he could be here to hurt you. Or them." Fang said, wrapping his arms around my waist. "He wouldn't do that. He may be annoying, but he wouldn't do anything to hurt me, Fang. You know that." I replied running my fingers through his hair. To my surprise, Fang actually shuddered. "Are you cold?" I asked, suspiciously. "No. Just…" He didn't answer, but he didn't have to. The hormones were getting to him. I could tell. I pulled myself closer to him and lightly brushed my lips over his. I got the reaction I expected. He pulled me to him and kissed me fiercely. We broke apart when the office door opened. My mom cleared her throat. Dylan looked like he was ready to kill Fang and me both. My hands were still tangled in Fang's hair. I smoothed it down some and tried to compose myself. "I'll wait for you in the living room and then we'll go home." I whispered, urging him to go into the office with my mom. "Can I speak with you? In private?" Dylan asked. Fang looked like he was trying to object but Mom pulled him along.

Dylan and I went to the backyard to talk. "What are you getting at, Max?" He asked angrily. I'd never seen Dylan angry, not really. "Are you just doing this to torture me? How much longer are you going to keep up this act?" He yelled. It was official. Any marbles Dylan ever had, he had to have lost. "Dylan, calm down. There is no act. No one is doing anything to torture you." I tried calming him down, but it was no use. "You know you're meant to be with me. You're just using Fang to get to me." He seethed. What a self centered, sexist piglet asshole. I'd show him. "If I am just using Fang then why are we getting married next week?! If I am just using Fang why would I be…?" I stopped myself, but I could see it was too late. "Max…"Dylan whispered my name darkly. Part of me was scared, part of me was…nevermind, I'm ignoring that part of me. "Max…why would you be what, exactly?" He asked with narrowed eyes. "It's none of your business." I replied coldly heading towards the house. "You aren't." He said hopelessly. He seemed so defeated, I almost felt bad for him. I nodded. "I was too late."


	27. Caught in the act

**I am not James Patterson. I do not own Maximum Ride. **

"I had this feeling for months. I just felt like I had to get back to you, like I needed to be with you. I don't know how many times I started coming back, but I caught myself. I talked myself out of it. Honestly Max, I tried to leave you alone. But then Jeb didn't check in and it all clicked. It was the excuse that I needed…and here I am. Now I know that I was too late." I absorbed what Dylan was saying to me. He'd wanted to come back for months…right when I started having…urges. Interesting. "Dylan, there was nothing for you to do. I love Fang. I wouldn't have chosen you, no matter what." I said, but apparently it wasn't as convincing as it needed to be. "You don't mean that." He whispered, inching closer to me. I did mean that. I had to mean that. I thought about how I had felt all those months ago. I knew that if it had been Dylan in that room instead of Iggy I would have made a huge mistake. At least with Iggy I was able to control myself. I wouldn't have been able to if it was Dylan, but I would never say that out loud. "I always thought it would be me. I thought eventually you would return my feelings and we'd be together. I always imagined what you'd be like pregnant…with my kids." He told me softly, running his finger down my stomach. I was…so many things. Shocked. Frightened. Speechless. Confused. Luckily, the back door to my mom's closed and Fang burst out. "Get away from her." He growled. "Both of you, stop it." I ordered, but froze when I saw Mom in the door behind Fang. "We need to find Jeb. Like, yesterday." She said worriedly.

"I was right, wasn't I?" I asked for confirmation. "I can't be sure without Jeb, but I think so. I don't have a baseline to compare their levels to, but their testosterone levels are through the roof. I think Fang's is in response to your…condition. I don't understand why Dylan's would be elevated unless it has something to do with his engineering. Maybe he was engineered to start…mating about the same time as you." Mom explained, shrugging helplessly. It made sense though. Fang had gotten more protective since I got pregnant. And Dylan was…just Dylan, but more annoying. He did tell me that he felt drawn to come back to me when my biological alarm clock started to blow up on me. "We need to find Jeb. Quickly." She added. I was clueless though. I didn't know where to start. "Itex is gone. Who else would want him?" She asked, making a really good point. "I have no idea. We'll check the laptop and see what we find." I said, heading back to the living room. "Nudge, can you check the laptop again and see if you can find out anything else?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "I'll help." Dylan offered. Nudge gritted her teeth but nodded grudgingly. "We need to get you home. You're exhausted." Fang said, pulling me to him. The sad part was I didn't have the energy to argue. "We'll call you if we find anything." Dylan said, pushing me out the door.

I was at mom's almost all the next day. Fang had stayed home saying that he had work to do, but I think he honestly just hated being around Dylan. Fang wasn't big on any emotions, but jealousy was definitely not one of his favorites. It was like crying for me. He'd avoid doing it in public at all costs. He knew that I'd be with Mom, Nudge, Ella, and Angel, so he trusted that I would be safe. I was finishing up some homework when I heard Angel storming down the hall. She flung the door open angrily. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" I asked. "I can't take it anymore! I'm going to your house." She huffed slamming the door behind her. I marched up to the room that she still shared with Nudge. The door was closed. I knocked gently and waited for a moment. I thought I heard mumbling coming from inside but no one was opening the door. I turned the handle and saw something I never needed to see. Ever. "Get. Off. Of. Her. Now. " I said through gritted teeth.


	28. Bigger fish to fry

**I got tons of reviews on the last chapter. YAY!!! I guess people aren't big on the Dudge love. LOL. Anyway, I don't own Maximum Ride.** **Boo.**

I thanked everything holy that Nudge and Dylan were both still fully clothed. Apparently the hormones had gotten to Dylan too. I grabbed Dylan by his hair and dragged him down the hall. Fang burst through the front door, absolutely seething. He picked Dylan up by his shirt and shoved him against the wall. "Stop it! He didn't do anything wrong! We were just making out!" Nudge screamed behind us. Just making out! My baby, my little Nudge…"Nudge he was on top of you! He was…" I shook my head trying to shake the mental image out of it. "You were making moves on Nudge?" Fang asked Dylan with narrowed eyes. He sounded relieved…but still angry. I understood then what he must have thought. "Angel said she couldn't stand their thoughts anymore…I thought she meant him and…" Me. "Did you two find anything useful or were you too busy playing tonsil hockey?" I asked them. "There was a weird e-mail, but it was untraceable. He was supposed to meet someone at a coffee shop on 10th. It was supposed to be Monday." Nudge offered guiltily. "Alright. Let's get ready and go. Dylan! Stay right there! She doesn't need any help getting dressed!" I shot bitterly, and headed back to my mom's room.

"Mom, we've got to go check out this coffee shop and see if Jeb ever made it there. You don't happen to have a key to his apartment, do you?" I asked. "No, but I want to talk to you a second before you go." She said, closing the door behind me. "What's up?" I asked, worried. "Max, I know you wanted to get married on Friday, but we don't have anything planned. And I know Jeb would want to be there. I know how you feel about him, but honestly, I think we should wait until we find him." If he's even alive. "That's fine, Mom. I'll tell Fang." I said, heading out of the door. I had bigger metaphorical fish to fry at the moment. "Why did you ask about a key to Jeb's?" Mom asked. "Because there is no way I'm letting him stay in the same house as Nudge!" I wailed, slamming the door behind me.

Nudge, Dylan, Fang, and I walked into Epitome coffee shop. "Hi." I greeted Buster, the guy behind the counter with a smile. He smiled back politely and asked what he could get me. I pulled the picture of Jeb out of my pocket. "Did you happen to see this guy here, Monday night?" I asked. Buster was making some foamy chocolate drink for Nudge and laughed. "Oh yeah. He was here. He was with some blonde." My first thought was Allison. "How old was she? About his age?" I asked, trying to confirm my suspicions. "No way! She was way younger than him. I thought he might have been her professor. Or her dad. But he didn't exactly look happy to see her. She was pretty hot too, not as pretty as you, but still, not in his league." Buster said with a wink. I felt Fang's arm wrap around my waist as I scratched behind his wings. I thought I heard him growling underneath his breath. "Thanks Buster, but I'm spoken for. Anyway, you've been a big help." I smiled, placing a $5 in the tip jar. Nudge took her drink and we all headed out. "Lauren's brunette." Fang replied, ruffling his hair like he does when he's frustrated. Nudge and Dylan stared at each other, but came up clueless. "Hey." We heard Iggy behind us. "Thanks for meeting us. Can you take Dylan and get him settled in at Jeb's?" I asked curtly, glaring at Dylan. Iggy sighed but agreed, dragging Dylan along with him. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm going home to take a nap. If I so much hear about you and Dylan being the same room together again, I swear to everything holy, Fang, Iggy, and I will be taking watch outside of your door. Do I make myself clear?" I threatened to Nudge. She nodded her cheeks red with color and took off back towards Mom's. "Let's go home." I muttered to Fang.


	29. Hot fluff

**Someone threatened to blow up Iggy if I didn't post another chapter *Ahem* So, I'm posting again. Yay. I don't own Max, **

We walked through the door of our apartment when I felt Fang pull me to him. I knotted my hands in his hair and pulled myself closer. "Wait, are we…?" I asked. He nodded shrugging out of his shirt. Angel must have already headed home. "I think I know how you felt those couple of months." Fang admitted guiltily. Oh, sweet payback! I thought of all the times Fang had told me no and smirked. "Well, see you in a couple of hours." I said with a yawn, flopping down on the bed. Fang stared behind me looking like he wanted to bang his head against the wall.

A couple of hours later, I woke up with Fang next to me. I had held out for a while, but eventually gave in. I rested my head on his chest, feeling him stir beside me. He was awake now too. "We need to talk." I said pathetically. "What's up?" He asked worriedly. "A couple of things. First, I think you do know how I felt a couple of months ago. Mom said your hormones are through the roof. She thinks it's a reaction to the pregnancy." I watched Fang taking it all in and recognized the look on his face. It was guilt. "Sorry I overreacted some." He mumbled into my hair. "Overreacted some? You looked like you were going to throw Buster through the glass door just for winking at me! And Dylan…" I shuddered when I remembered the murderous look on Fang's face when he'd seen that Dylan had come back. "The other thing is the wedding…" I started. "We're going to have to postpone it, right?" He asked, without surprise. "You're not mad?" I asked. To my surprise, he actually laughed. "Max, I've waited until now. What's another year or so?" He said, running his fingers through my hair. "There is one thing though." He said. "Let's get dressed for dinner, and I'll show you."

I did like I was told when Fang brought me out into the living room. "Your wedding present is already done. We finished it up today." He said, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me to the spare bedroom. I eyed him suspiciously. "Go ahead." He pushed me to the door. I turned the knob and peered inside. The bedroom had been turned into a nursery. The walls were mint green. There were two cribs with matching jungle themed bedding and an open closet containing a few gender neutral clothes. I busted out in tears. Damn hormones!!! Fang pulled me to him, and I could feel him laughing again. "Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel helped me finish it up today. Your mom, Nudge, Ella, and Angel picked out everything." He murmured. I still couldn't stop crying. "Nod twice if you like it." He teased with a chuckle. "I…love..it." I hiccupped between sobs.


	30. Fast forward and blast from the past

**Just finished my PowerPoint for tomorrow. Hallelujah! Anyway, I don't own Maximum Ride though I soooooooo wished that I did. **

Two months went by and we still hadn't found Jeb. We had all assumed the worst, but no one would dare say it. We continued our "normal" lives and tried to move on, but we always kept going back to Jeb's laptop, trying to get a lead. The wedding had been postponed, at least until after the babies were born, as I had started to show and I refused to look fat for my wedding. Dylan had moved into Jeb's apartment and decided to start going to the same university that I attended. My mom would be his teacher. How weird was that? On top of that he and Nudge eventually "broke up" for lack of better terms. They gave each other the cold shoulder for a while, but tried the whole being friends thing. Dylan seemed fine with it but I could tell Nudge was struggling. Some days she hated him and some days…I don't want to know what she was thinking other days.

"Max! Are you almost ready to go?" Mom shouted from her room down the hall. "Yeah!" I yelled back finishing off the tuna sandwich I was having for lunch. Fang waited for Mom and me at the door and we headed off to see Allison. As cruel as life had been to me in the past, some force of nature had decided for me to have a fairly easy pregnancy. The hormones had pretty much gone away except for the occasional random outburst of tears and the morning sickness had gone away. And despite the differences between me and a normal human, so far everything looked healthy and normal, just…winged. Allison had been really pleased with the progress so far. We were going to find out today if they were boys or girls. I walked up to the glass door of Allison's office like normal. "Is Lauren here?" I asked, scanning the area to see where she was. She wasn't at her normal desk. "She is. She's in with Dr. McKinley. She'll be out in just a moment." The older, grey haired receptionist answered with a friendly smile. That's when I saw her. It was a blonde girl, about my age, maybe a little older smiling dead at me. And it was a smile I would recognize anywhere. Brigid.


	31. Trusting your pregnant gut

**A faithful (rabid) reader threatened to blow up Total, Dylan, and a llama if I didn't update. I'd actually miss Dylan so here's another chapter. I still don't own Max. **

"We have to go." I said, walking up to Mom and Fang, urgency in my voice. "Max, what's wrong?" Fang asked quickly, going tense. "It's Brigid. And she's blonde. She…" I was cut off by the door to the office opening. "Hey Max!" Lauren smiled sweetly, but all of a sudden I was on high alert. I didn't trust anyone. "Let's just talk to Allison." My mom requested. I eyed the front door, getting ready to bail. "Please Max. I can promise you, she doesn't know about Brigid." My mom swore to me. I looked at Fang. He was tense, but he was leaving it up to me. I nodded grudgingly, following Lauren back with Mom and Fang in tow. "You okay?" Lauren asked quietly. I shook my head no, but followed her anyway. "I'll get Allison." She said urgently and raced out of the room. I glared at Mom for convincing me to do this. "Max, I promise. There is no way that Allison knows about her. I'll explain when we leave, but trust me, Allison doesn't know. We have to tell her." Mom rushed, finishing right as Allison came in the door.

"Max, Val, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. "Did you just hire someone recently?" Mom asked Allison. Allison had to think it over. "Rachel. The blonde girl. She's doing my schedule. Why?" She asked suspiciously. "Shit. She knows. Brigid knows everything." I looked at Fang desperately. "What do you mean? Who's Brigid? What's going on?" Allison asked quickly. "Rachel is Brigid! And she's evil! She's probably trying to get to Max!" Mom said quickly, grabbing her stuff. "Wait!" Allison moved into the doorway so that we couldn't get out. "Rachel doesn't have any of your information. You're not in the computer, Max. That's why you always deal with Lauren! Lauren is the only person who knows who you are! We work you in. You're not in the system anywhere!" Allison explained frantically, and I felt a little better. But not much. "What about her file?" Mom asked suspiciously. "I keep it in the safe in my office. No one besides me knows the combination. No one can get to it." Mom, Fang and I looked at each other. "She still knows that I'm here. And I guarantee she's behind Jeb's disappearance." I replied coldly. "I'll meet you here tonight. I'll meet you in the parking lot at 7:30. We'll do everything after hours. I'll sneak you out the back right now. I'll get her info from personnel too and bring it with me. Maybe we can make sense of everything then." Allison offered, patting my back with a small smile. I remembered what my mom said. That she would explain everything later. I nodded curtly while Allison led us to the back exit. "I'll see you tonight."

"Okay mom, what was that about?" I asked, harshly when we made it back to the car. "It's a long story sweetie." I nodded for her to continue. I had time. "I was roommates with Alley in college. We were…a little crazy, but both of us were really good students. Then Alley met Kevin. They were in love, right away. The middle of our junior year, she found out that she was pregnant. But she and Kevin were in love. They were going to get married, have the baby and be a happy family." Of course there was a catch. Allison's story was a about to take a sad turn, I could hear it in Mom's voice. "Alley lost the baby. She had a miscarriage. She and Kevin stayed together. He really loved her, but she was depressed. She wasn't the same Alley that we knew and loved. She was miserable. Eventually they broke up and Alley's parents made her get medication and therapy. As time went on she got better, but she wasn't the same person anymore. She was older, more mature. That's when she decided that she wanted to be a doctor and specialize in high risk pregnancies. She's one of the best in the area. Ever since then Allison has submerged herself in her work. It's all she does." Mom remarked sadly. "Max, Allison has already lost a child. She knows how it feels. She wouldn't let me lose one of my own. Or my grandchildren. It would hurt her too and remind her of what she lost. That's why I trust her so much." Mom explained, pulling into the driveway. Call me crazy, or maybe just more grown up, but from all of my experiences with Allison, I couldn't help but agree with Mom. I was trusting my pregnant gut on this one and I hoped that neither my kids, or me regretted that decision.


	32. I'll follow you into the dark

**I don't own Maximum Ride! Please don't kill me. **

"I don't like this." Fang muttered to me. "Yes, because I love it. Meeting a doctor who may or may not be evil in a dark, abandoned parking lot." I replied sarcastically. We had made Mom stay behind. It was too dangerous for her. If anything happened Fang and I could U and A. Mom couldn't. "Looking for someone?" I heard to my right. Brigid. She was standing with Allison and Lauren tied chairs, bound and gagged. I felt the urge to fight well inside me, to defend myself and my family, but Fang had other ideas. "Max, go. Jeb's house is only a block away. Go get Dylan. I'll distract her." Fang whispered. "It's okay Max. You can listen to him. I'll let you get a head start. Fang and I have some catching up to do anyway." She laughed with a wink. Maybe it was the blonde hair, or just the evil smirk on her face, but whatever it was, it wasn't a good look for her. Brigid had been evil before, but now she was just crazy. I heard it in her voice and saw it on her face. Something had pushed her over the edge. "Don't worry. I won't kill them. Yet. Shoo!" She laughed with a wave of her hand. I had no choice. I wouldn't but my babies in danger, especially knowing that Fang could take Brigid on his worst day. I got a running start and jumped into the sky heading to Dylan.

*Fang's POV*

"Long time, no see." Brigid smirked, scraping under her nail with a knife. I started to throw myself towards her and tackle her to the ground, but she held the knife up to Lauren's neck. Lauren was sweating with eyes wide open. She'd obviously never been in a life or death situation before. Lucky her. "You know Brigid, I didn't know you were so bitter. I thought we could still be friends." I said sarcastically. Six years had obviously knocked her even further off of her rocker. "Oh Fang. You always were the charmer weren't you? And now you've gone and knocked little Maxie up. What am I to think?" She laughed. "Leave Max alone. Leave them out of this." I said, holding up a hand to keep her from making any sudden movements. "Whether or not I leave them out of this is entirely up to you Fang. You see, I could really care less about Max right now, as it is." Brigid smiled. "You don't want Max?" That changed everything. As long as she wasn't going to hurt Max, or the twins, I was willing to hear out her demands. To my surprise she laughed. I heard a rustling in some trees nearby that Brigid hopefully wouldn't hear. Thank God for Raptor hearing. Dylan. "Fang, you and your 'Flock' have always been so self centered. You always thought you were so special…the only ones of your kind. Max isn't the first pregnant Avian Fang. Though if she survives…she might actually be the first." Brigid smirked.

No. Max had to survive! That was not an option. "You see, there have been others, but the chance of survival…not to great. You probably got a 50/50 chance, kiddo. And trust me, if I go after her, that chance goes down. Significantly. And if I kill these two braniacs, her chance goes down to…pretty much nil." Brigid explained, still wielding the knife.

"So, you want what, exactly?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Easy. You. To leave with me. You and I, we leave right now. These two pretties stay here in the parking lot, until back up arrives. Or wait…he's already here, isn't he? Come on out and play!" She called to Dylan. Dylan hesitantly moved from the bushes. I have to admit, he looked pretty menacing under the poor lighting. "See Fang, one less dead body one your hands. All three of them can leave and your Max will be safe and sound. Mostly. How can you turn that down?" She asked shrugging, knife still in hand. I saw Dylan go to make a move. "No!" I shouted to him. Amazingly, he actually listened and stopped. Brigid smiled. She knew she had me right where she wanted me. I saw the fear etched on Allison and Lauren's faces. Dylan's face was cold and calculating. "Take care of her." I said to him quietly. Brigid laughed as I followed her into the dark.


	33. Apathetic way to be

I love reviews. Especially once that are written while on sugar highs and talk about blowing things up. Don't ever apologize for reviews. I love them

I also love Iggy. But I love Fang more. Maybe that's just me. Hehehe. Please don't kill me guys. I don't own Maximum Ride and probably for good reason. I make her do stupid stuff like what's about to happen in this chapter. *Loves!*

*Dylan's POV*

I untied the two ladies from the chairs, both of them scared witless. "It's okay. She's gone. And I don't think she'll be back." I told them, looking them over for any injuries. They both seemed fine, though definitely shaken up. "Val is going to hate me." The older blonde lady cried. "Don't worry. Dr. Martinez will understand. You didn't do anything wrong. We'll get him back." Maybe. Maybe not. Whatever. "I'd like to make sure you both get home safely." And buy as much time as possible before I have to tell Max that her babies' daddy ran off with a crazed lunatic for her own good. They both nodded as the older blonde lady walked to a blue BMW in the parking lot.

*Max's POV*

Where were they?! It had been almost two hours since I left Fang in the parking lot with Brigid. He never picked up his phone. I had no way of getting in touch with Dylan either. They could be…no, they couldn't be. I would know. I would feel it. They were okay. They had to be. I was still at Jeb's apartment where Dylan had told me to wait. Iggy had gone to my mom's to check on the others and reported everything safe and sound. For now. That's when the door opened. Dylan stood in the doorway. Alone. I broke down in a fit of tears and sobs and this time I knew there were no hormones involved. Dylan took me in his arms, tears soaking his shirt. I stayed there until I finally sobbed myself to sleep.


	34. An offer you can refuse

**I don't own Maximum Ride. Too bad.**

I woke up the next morning, confused about where I was when I recognized that it had to have been Jeb's bedroom. I saw a picture of The Flock on a masculine wooden dresser, happy and celebrating after we defeated Itex. I saw another one of my mom, Ella, and me on the night stand by his bed. I felt numb as I stared at the picture of the Flock. Of Fang. I made my way to the kitchen to find Dylan leaning against the counter. "What happened? Is he…?" I asked, tears forming. "He's not dead Max. He's alive. He's with her." Dylan said, sorrowfully. My heart broke in two. Did he want to go with her? Did she make him? What was she doing with him? I felt sick to my stomach as I realized how scared I was to find out the answers to those questions. "How? Why?" I muttered. "She was going to kill the two women in the parking lot. She said if he went with her, she would leave them and you alone. So he went." Dylan explained. How could he?! "Why? He didn't have to do that! We could have taken her!" I began, but Dylan cut me off. "Max, put yourself in his position. If it was between jeopardizing your Flock's safety, and your babies, or just going with a crazed lunatic, what would you do?" He asked. I was angry, furious, heartbroken and ready to kick some major ass, but Dylan had a point. If a madman offered me a choice of my safety or my family's, I knew what I would pick every time. Hands down. And apparently Fang would pick the same way. That didn't mean that I liked him for it.

Dylan and I flew back to my apartment. I couldn't stand it there and I knew it. I was going to stay at my mom's for now and try to come up with a plan to get Fang back. Dylan waited in my living room while I went to my room to pack up my things. My mom would be picking me up from there and taking me to Allison's to make sure the babies were okay due to all the stress. I packed about a week's worth of clothes in a bag. I placed it next to the front door. After that, I don't really know why I did what I did. But I left Dylan sitting in my living room and I opened the door to the nursery. As I walked in I took a deep breath, which did almost no good. My back hit the wall and I sank to the floor.

I don't know how long I was there or how much I cried. The only thing I remembered was mom's arm wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me to her. She patted my hair and shushed me, but it did no good. As the sobs subsided everything I was thinking and feeling finally got put into words. "I thought it would be different for them. I thought they would have both of their parents in a nice home without cages or needles! And now he's gone. I can't do this on my own, Mom. I can't!" I whisper , Maximum Ride was feeling sorry for herself, but I had to get Fang back. I didn't know how or when but I needed him to help me through this. "You don't have to, Max." Dylan whispered from the doorway. I noticed my mom peering at him, but as they looked at each other my mom got up. "I'll be right out here, sweetie." She said smoothing my hair again, stepping into the living room. Dylan took her place on the floor beside me. "Max, I know you're scared and I don't blame you. And you know I'll do everything possible to help you try and find Fang. But I'm telling you right now, no matter what you don't have to do this on your own." He told me. I took a chance and looked into his blue eyes. What was he saying? "Max, even if we don't find Fang the kids can still have a normal life. I'd be right there with you, every step of the way. If you wanted me." Dylan said brushing my cheek.


	35. Just for kicks

**I don't own Maximum Ride. I have also sought shelter on a desolate island for fear of stalkers finding me and killing me. **

So many things were rushing through my mind at once. I thought about how that would hurt Nudge. I thought about Fang, being gone less than 24 hours and already had Dylan trying to replace him. Sure thinking of those things made me absolutely furious, but I thought about Dylan's offer too. I wanted a normal life for my kids, and Dylan was offering that to me. He was offering to take care of kids that weren't his and stay with me. "You would do that?" I asked incredulously. Dylan chuckled. "Max, I thought I've made it clear. There is nothing that I WOULDN'T do for you." He whispered, leaning in toward me and putting his hand on my stomach. Dylan was about to kiss me. I was about to let him. I had to stop him. My mind was screaming at me, saying NO! but I wasn't moving.

Luckily my baby was. I got kicked in the stomach. Hard. "Ow!" I muttered, looking down. Dylan had felt it. "Wow." He mumbled. One of my babies moved. It kicked me! And kept Dylan from kissing me. I loved that kid so much right then and it hadn't even been born yet. Despite the events of the past 24 hours I was excited. I jumped up, actually smiling a little and rushing into the living room. "It moved!" I told mom excitedly, holding my belly. I just wished Fang were here for it.

As mom held her ear to my stomach I rolled my eyes to Dylan who grinned at me. I swear, it lit up the whole room, making my world grimmer and darker. He stood behind me and put his hand to my back. "Just keep it in mind." He whispered to me. I didn't acknowledge his comment, simply picking up my bag and heading for the door.


	36. WTF?

**I don't own Maximum Ride. Please don't kill me. Thanks. And yes, this could be the shortest chapter ever. I know. **

*In the future*

I looked at the picture in my hands. It was a picture of the day that I brought the twins home. I was sitting on the couch, holding one in each arm. Dylan was sitting next to me, leaning in and smiling. It was the perfect picture. Everything was just the way it should be. I smiled to myself and put it back on the mantle above my fireplace.


	37. Waking up is hard to do

**I don't own Maximum Ride but I am investing in a security system after all the death threats. LOL. I promise I have something good coming up for you guys!**

*Fang's POV*

My head was throbbing. Every muscle in me ached like I'd been run over by a semi and then beaten with a baseball bat. Despite all the pain I noticed that I was free. I wasn't behind a cage's bars and there were no manacles or restraints. This definitely wasn't The School. I guess Brigid was more humane than that. "You're awake." I heard a gruff voice from the corner. Jeb. I second guessed my statement about Brigid's humane tactics. Any woman who would trap a guy in a confined space with his future father in law could be considered torturous. I rubbed the back of my head in a particularly sore spot and pulled myself up. Jeb looked like shit. He had lost a lot of weight, looking gaunt and malnourished. His face was bearded and disheveled, and he seriously needed a haircut, even by my standards. I examined our surroundings. It looked like a stone cell on 3 walls. The walls seemed thick and sturdy, either rock or concrete. The fourth wall was glass. I wondered why Jeb hadn't broken through yet in an attempt to escape.

Jeb noticed my eyes darting around, surveying my surroundings. "It's a two way mirror. We can see out but they can't see in." Jeb explained. "They?" I asked. "The snakes. She keeps them in cages. She's made more of them. Lots more of them. And they're vicious. They're similar to the ones Dylan and Max faced years ago, not like the joke of a hybrid that tried to pass as a ninja. " Jeb explained. I considered that for a moment and calculated the odds that Jeb and I could take them. "How did you get here?" Jeb asked. "I did what I had to. I had to protect Max, and the kids. She said that as long as I came with her she would leave Max alone." I said simply. As crappy of a father as Jeb had been, surely even he could understand that. To my surprise he blew up. "You believed her?!" He screamed. I wondered if Jeb knew Max's chance of surviving, but blocked that out of my mind quickly. Max would survive. I could see Jeb trying to calm himself, taking deep breaths. "You don't understand Fang. It's about her…and about them. That's all she wants. It was never about you. And by giving yourself up you just gave away Max's first line of defense.


	38. Oh boyand girl

**I don't own Maximum Ride. The end. **

*Max's POV*

Mom took me to Allison's. Lauren was at her desk, looking tired and ragged. She normally seemed to vibrant and bubbly but last night must have really scared her. She really was a smart girl. She smiled slightly when she saw me and took me back to an examining room with Mom and Dylan following. I knew from here on out I would have to have a member of the Flock with me at all times. As annoying as Dylan was, he was still one of us, so he was on that list too. I was out of commission. If I ended up fighting I could end up hurting myself or the twins and I wouldn't let that happen. Maximum Ride was going to accept help, which is something I've never been good at.

Then there was the issue of Fang. I had to find him, but I couldn't do it on my own and I had no idea where to start looking. Allison smiled at us when we walked in and rushed to my mom, hugging her tightly. Mom returned the hug, happy that her friend was okay. I was pretty relieved too. I missed Fang but I would have felt terrible if anything had happened to Allison and Lauren. Allison wrapped her arms around me too, giving me a hug. "Are you okay?" She looked at me seriously. I shrugged, not wanting to consider the state of my own life at the moment. "Any abdominal pain, or tightening?" I shook my head no. "Any spotting or bleeding?" I shook my head again, feeling uncomfortable about all the questions with Dylan in the room. "Any movement?" Allison asked hopefully with a small smile. I nodded, feeling myself brighten a little. "Head on up to the examining tables and we'll see how these little guys are doing. Or girls." She smiled, touching my swelling stomach affectionately. Dylan offered his hand to try and help me onto the table, but I ignored it just jumping up on my own. Mom and Allison glared at me angrily, saying that I should be more careful. Dylan just shrugged and smirked at me like he expected nothing less. I laid back and pulled my shirt up so Allison could get to my stomach. Luckily my sweatpants were low enough that I didn't have to pull down the waistband but I didn't feel self conscious with Dylan around either. Allison started doing the ultrasound and I heard hearts beating like a bass drum at a bad techno concert. "The heart sounds good." Mom commented. Allison nodded in approval and stared at the screen in front of her for the ultrasound. "Do you want to know…even though he's not here right now?" Allison asked painfully. I felt tears welling again but I nodded.

Dylan took my hand and squeezed it gently for support. Normally I avoided any physical contact with him at all possible costs, but something had changed between us. It didn't feel like a come on, or sexual attraction anymore. It felt supportive and caring, and maybe it was just my current situation with Fang being gone, but I needed that right now. I returned the pressure to his hand and he smiled at me, genuinely happy that I wasn't pushing him away. Allison moved the ultrasound wand on my stomach, staring intently at the screen. "That's what I thought. One boy and one girl." She smiled. Mom and Dylan were both smiling at me and for just a moment I forgot that I had to save my best friend and love of my life from a deranged scientist. But when I did remember what I had to do, I smiled knowing that I could tell him he was having a son…and a daughter.

"Do you guys mind if I speak with Max alone for a moment?" Allison asked as we finished up the ultrasound. Mom and Dylan looked at each other and then at me for my approval. I nodded with a weak smile. "I'll be right outside." Dylan said quietly, finally letting go of my hand. "You okay?" Allison asked sincerely. I only nodded in response. "That guy, Dylan. Do you trust him?" Allison asked skeptically. "I…think so." I answered, realizing now what it must look like from the outside. The father of my children and future husband had walked off with another woman less than 24 hours ago and I was already holding hands with another guy. That had to look weird. And she didn't even know about the other half thing. "Just be careful. Fang loves you, and the kids. I saw it on his face whenever he came in. He'll fight through Heaven and Hell to get back to you. I know it." Allison replied, patting my back. I jumped off of the examining table before Allison grabbed my arm. "I wasn't sure if you trusted Dylan. In case you didn't, I wanted to give you this in private." Allison said, handing me a file. It was "Rachel's" personnel file. I opened it to see a picture for her ID badge, along with diplomas, degrees, and a resume, all of which had been falsified, I was sure. There was also an information page with her fake name, date of birth, and an address. "I know that she's crazy, but I doubt that she's stupid. That address is probably faker than her blond hair but hopefully it's at least a start." Allison said. I thanked her and gave her a small hug before I opened the door to see Dylan and my mom waiting for me.


	39. The bad guy spills the beans

**I don't own Maximum Ride. I'm sure that's a shocker for you guys. **

*Fang's POV*

"So what's the plan?" I hadn't asked Jeb that since we lived at the e-shaped house, but he'd been here longer than I had, so if anyone had a plan so far I figured it was him. "There's about 20 snakes in there. I don't know if we can break down the glass. But maybe they can. "Jeb remarked. My mind was already working trying to come up with something, but I kept coming up empty. I had a possible escape route but I was in no condition to fight my way out. Yet. I knew 20 snakes were too many for one person alone, and Jeb was a good fighter but he was only human. We would both have to be at 100% if we were going to make it out. That's when the door open and the bitch herself walked in.

"Good morning sunshine. How ya feelin'?" She asked with a light slap on the head. Ow, that hurt. "Never better." I mumbled, rolling my eyes. "Well, it's time you get acquainted with how things work around here. See, Jeb's been here a little longer than you so he's…adjusted. I would have let him go, but he was being selfish. All I wanted was a little information. Is that so much to ask?" She laughed. I'd heard Brigid laugh before but this was different. It was like she wasn't even the same person anymore. For the first time since I met her, I was a little afraid of Brigid Dwyer. A little. "Here's the deal Fang, I asked Jeb to give me as much information as he could about Max's pregnancy, but he's being overprotective of his little girl. Imagine that. A piece of shit father like Jeb actually doing the right thing for once. What is the world coming to?" Brigid asked rhetorically. "How did you know Max was pregnant to begin with?" I asked. Had there been a traitor? Had Jeb kept touch with Dylan AND Brigid all those years? To my surprise Brigid seemed angry when I asked that question. "I already told you that, you idiot. Pay attention! God, your stupid flock is so self centered. You think you're so special and so unique. All female avian human hybrids start mating around this age. I knew Max wouldn't be any different. It's how you're programmed. All the others did it and so did she." Brigid answered. I couldn't help but wonder how many others there had been. Were they all at the School and we were secluded from them? I remembered what Brigid said about Max's chances of survival. It crossed my mind that none of them had lived and maybe that's why we never saw them. "Why didn't Jeb know about any of that?" I asked. Brigid laughed her evil insane scientist laugh again. "Jeb's an idiot. The School never trusted him. They kept him out of the loop on everything. They trusted me though. I had access to files that Jeb never even knew existed." She smiled. I could see that Jeb was annoyed by what she said, but not surprised. "I knew Max would be mating soon, so I started job hopping. Did you know that I've worked at 20 different doctor's offices over the past year? But then I did some more research and I found dear old 'Alley Cat'. Once I found out that she was a close personal friend of Val's I knew that's where she would go. I think you can figure out the rest from there." Brigid explained.

"Why do you want them?" I asked, controlling the anger in my voice. Brigid snuck closer to me and ran her fingers through my hair. "Aww, it's nothing personal Fang. But if those babies survive that's a second generation hybrid. I haven't studied that yet, not that any have lived for me to study, but anyway…" She trailed off. "So you're plan is…?" I wondered out loud. "Oh Fang, you still don't understand. Our little friends on the other side of that mirror are going to go get Max for me. Her poor little Dylan will probably die like the Romeo he is protecting her. That's a shame too, he was quite yummy." Brigid mused. Ew. "Once she makes it here, Jeb and I are going to deliver the babies." Brigid smiled. I wondered where I came in. As if knowing what I was thinking she turned to me. "Baby, you're insurance. If I can't get my hands on Max or those cute little birdies of yours, you're my bargaining chip." She smiled. I was pretty sure Max wouldn't trade the kids for me, a gaping hole in Brigid's plan. "I know what you're thinking Fang, and you're probably right. She won't trade them for you, but the others would. See Max will probably die giving birth anyway and the Flock will need a leader when she's gone." She said inching closer to me "Besides, you could be fun." She whispered with a smile. That's when I felt the needle jab into my shoulder and I was out again.


	40. Annoying, but brilliant

**Hi guys!! Yes, happy stuff is on the way, hang in there *ahem Rissa!* LOL. I still don't own Maximum Ride. What I do own is a whole crap load of home work. Don't kill me if I go missing for a couple of days. I have a test that determines the rest of my life next Friday...literally. Wish me luck. **

*Max's POV*

It had been four days and we still hadn't found Fang. I examined the file that Allison had given me over and over again but kept coming up blank. Needless to say the address that was in the file was a fake, turning out to be a vacant warehouse. We broke in but didn't find anything that linked Brigid to it. I exhaled again, setting my head down on Jeb's dining room table. "Max, you need to sleep." Dylan told me sifting through the other various papers that the file contained. I lifted my head back up determined to keep going when Dylan stood over me, slamming the file shut. "Either you try to get some sleep or I call your mom to give you a sedative. Take your pick." He threatened. The younger kids still had to go to school the next day and had already gone to bed, so I'd gone back to Jeb's with Dylan to keep working. I still wasn't ready to go home without Fang there. We kept coming up with nothing but I felt drained. I had been running on a few hours sleep and a lot of adrenaline which probably was not very good for the twins. "Fine." I conceded, standing up from the table and stretching. I felt the twins move a little in response and grinned. "I'm going to check state databases for Brigid and her aliases. Maybe there's something in public records that can help us." Dylan said, standing up too. "Why don't you sleep in my room? Nudge still has the laptop so I need to use the desktop in Jeb's bedroom to look that stuff up." He suggested. Then it hit me like a Mack truck slipping on a banana peel. "That's it!" I shouted, louder than intended. Dylan looked confused, waiting for me to explain. "You're brilliant! Annoying, but brilliant." I said, snatching my cell phone from my bag.

It was almost midnight, but I had to call Allison. Hopefully she wouldn't be asleep yet. "Max, what's going on?" Dylan asked while the phone rang. I shushed him and held up a finger, indicating that I would explain in a second. "Hello?" Allison asked. If she was asleep she did a good job hiding it. She sounded alert and awake. "Allison, it's Max." I rushed. "Is everything okay?" She asked urgently. "I'm fine, but I have a question. Have you replaced Rachel yet?" I asked, ignoring the fact that her name was actually Brigid. Also known as Red Headed Bitch. "No, I haven't. Not yet. Why?" She wondered. "Has anyone else touched that computer since she's been gone?" Please say no, please say no. "Not that I know of. There hasn't been anyone new and everyone has their own station. What is going on, Max?" Allison asked again impatiently. "I need to come by tomorrow and I'll have someone with me. Is there any way that she can see the computer that Rachel was using?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound like I was begging, because I kind of felt like I was. "Is 7 too early for you?" Allison asked. "We'll be there." I replied hanging up. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said hugging Dylan. He was still confused but returned the hug anyway. Thanks to him I might be able to find out where to find Fang.


	41. In pieces

**I'm posting this chapter for Rissa-Iggy, EllaBella, and DarkAngelWings. Then I'm finishing homework and reading Fang. Got it? Good. I don't own Maximum Ride. Darn it all. **

*Fang's POV*

"Fang! Wake up!" The voice yelled in my ear and I felt a sharp pain across my face. Jeb. "Uhh…" I groaned, pulling myself up. I wasn't in pain, just really stiff. "You've got to get up." Jeb said sternly. "What's going on?" I grumbled. "Brigid's getting ready. You've got to get up. This is our chance." I remembered bits and pieces of the past few days, each time my memory going black. "She's kept you sedated for days now. She's going after Max so I don't think she'll drug you anymore." Jeb replied. "What do you mean?" I asked stretching, trying to loosen up my muscles. A fight was coming and I needed to be ready. "You know her plan. She figured you'd try and stop her so she's kept you knocked out most of the time, except for a few minutes here and there." Jeb answered, looking around. "We have to find a way out." Good job Fang, way to state the obvious. The door opened and Brigid blocked the doorway. I considered my options and realized it was probably the easiest way out that there was. "Don't bother, boys." She said calmly walking inside and closing the door. Jeb and I shared a look, knowing this was our best opportunity.

"Mommy's going out to play for a little while so I thought I'd bring you guys some food. Can't have you starving to death, now can we?" She laughed setting down some food by the door. "Oh and Fang, I wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about Max at all. I'm sure Dylan's been taking very good care of her, just like you asked him to. But we have a little surprise for him." Brigid pulled a syringe out of her pocket and thumped it. "What have you done now, Brigid?" You could hear the disgust in Jeb's voice when he spoke to her. "Well Jeb, I know Maxie already had a run in with the Ophidias some time ago, and I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed in the outcome. So, I did what I could and wouldn't you know, there's an enzyme that speeds up their venom. Who would have thought? Well, actually I did. So now when Dylan, or any other avian gets bitten they'll live long enough to watch a rerun of CSI. About an hour. Maybe less. " She answered. "Avians are particularly vulnerable to snake bites, more so than other animals. That's why she picked snakes." Jeb explained. "You did pay attention in Biology Jeb! I'm so proud. Unfortunately now I have to test my theory and the only bird kid I have is right here. So Fang, I'm sorry to say it looks like we won't be having any fun together. There's been a little change in plans and now we have to say goodbye."

Brigid began walking toward me with the syringe in her hand. Jeb and I nodded, knowing we were acting now. I side kicked, knocking the syringe out of Brigid's hand while Jeb attacked low knocking her legs out from under her. Jeb rolled out of the way so Brigid didn't land on him. I knelt down, shoving my knee into Brigid's stomach with a loud oof as she lost her breath. I pulled back my right hand to punch her in the face but stopped in my tracks when she caught my punch. Brigid had gotten stronger. And faster. What happened to her? She held my captured hand but then let go, sending a kick to my chest. I felt myself hit the two way mirror and heard the sound of breaking glass, struggling to regain by breath. Whatever had happened to Brigid had made her as strong as Max or me. I shook out my wings, feeling small shards of broken glass embedded in them.

I threw myself through the broken window to find Brigid on top out of Jeb, pounding his face into the stone floor. I tackled Brigid knocking her to the floor but I felt her squirming underneath me. The syringe with the snake venom was less than six inches from her outstretched hand. I grabbed her by the tops of her arms and did the only thing I knew to do. I threw her with all my strength and heard a sickening gurgle. Her body was hanging over the frame of the broken mirror on a thick shard of glass, completely impaled. I helped Jeb up as we made our way to her body to see if she was indeed dead. Jeb checked her for vitals and shook his head. Brigid Dwyer was dead. We looked into the next room, realizing that all the cages were empty. "Fang, the snakes are already on their way." Jeb realized. We had to get out of there. I had to get to Max. My eyes scanned Brigid's lifeless body looking for a key, or a swipe card that would let us out of our cell. That's when my eyes caught sight of the straps of her tank top and the horrible scars that marred her back. And the light brown feathers sticking out of the sides. Brigid Dwyer had wings. She had started experimenting on herself.


	42. Angry Bird Kid

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. And I'm not a big fan of the man who does right now. The end**.

*Max's POV*

"Nudge! Move it! We gotta go!" I screamed down the hall, grabbing four bagels from my mom's fridge and handing Dylan 2 of them. "I'm missing school for this you know!" Nudge shouted at me, grabbing her backpack and marching into the living room. "Nudge, you'll get to school on time, but we need to go now." I said, racing out the door behind her. Dylan and I looked at each other instantly knowing what was wrong. She was upset because he and I had shown up at mom's house at the same time. I didn't have time to deal with Nudge's jealousy at the moment though. We had to get to Allison's and hopefully go find Fang after that. Nudge was going to use her powers by touching Brigid's computer that she had used while working for Allison to see if she could get a location of where she was. It was a long shot, but it was the best that we had.

"This is it." Allison said, heading to Brigid's desk with coffee in hand. "You ready to give this a shot?" I asked Nudge. "Anything to get Fang back." I noticed her voice sounded shorter than it needed to be. Just what I needed, an angry bird kid on my hands. Nudge sat in the chair at Brigid's station pulling herself up to the computer, placing her hands on the keyboard. That's when we heard the most excruciating scream that we'd heard in years. "Nudge!" Dylan turned her in the chair to look at him, but her face was scrunched up in pain. She had tears pouring from her eyes and had tried to curl up into a ball in the chair. "Nudge, baby, what's going on? Talk to me." I ordered rubbing her back lightly. She kept sobbing, her breath coming in short spurts. "Should I get her a sedative?" Allison asked, checking Nudge's pulse. "No, please no. Just…gimme a second." Nudge requested with a whimper. Dylan felt her cheek and she quieted down some. "Do you want some water?" She nodded weakly, starting to pull herself together. Dylan and Allison walked down the hall while I tried to soothe Nudge. A second later they came up with a cup, which Nudge gulped down thirstily. "What is it, sweetie? I need to know what's wrong." I tried to keep my voice calm, but even I heard the panic in it. "Max, it's Brigid. You wouldn't believe the things she's done." Nudge erupted into sobs again, leaning into Dylan's shoulder.

It turns out Nudge didn't make it to school that day. She was exhausted and worn out from what she had seen. We took her back to Mom's and after Mom saw her she decided to give her something to calm her down too. Half an hour later after we got back Nudge had calmed down and was in some sort of fun loopy land. I would have bet the twin's nonexistent piggy bank Mom had given her Valium. Or something a Hell of a lot like it. "You think you can talk about it now?" I asked Nudge. I was trying not to push her, but she was my only lead to finding Fang. Nudge shivered but nodded like the brave little trooper she had always been. "Max, you wouldn't believe what she's been through. I could only get parts of it, but when it started she was really depressed. I think it was after she left here. After that she got less depressed and more…deranged. She started experimenting…on herself. I saw it all, all the needles and all the shots. I swear, I even smelled everything. They made her really sick. Then it went black for just a second and I swear, it felt like someone was cutting into my back with a scalpel. When I saw Brigid again…" Nudge trailed off. "What is it sweetie?" I urged her to continue, despite the overwhelming feeling that I wanted to protect her. "Max, when I saw Brigid again, she had wings."


	43. Fight or flight

**I'm posting this one for Leannaxpanda for paying me a huge compliment. I'll also be posting a poll on my profile later, asking about which story I should follow this up with. I have too many ideas and honestly can't decide what to do next. I FINISHED THIS FIC LAST NIGHT BTW!!! I don't own Max btw.**

*Max's POV*

Nudge managed to eat some lunch after telling us what she saw, before she finally crashed for a nap. Despite everything she had seen Nudge had no idea where to find Brigid. I sat at my mom's dinner table, my head thumping when it hit the wood. I heard Dylan sigh behind me, as he started gently rubbing my shoulders. I hadn't realized how tense I was but as he kneaded the muscles I found myself almost asleep. "You okay?" He whispered, closer than I wanted him to be. I nodded lightly and got up heading for mom's fridge. The awkwardness was back and I needed to get out of Dylan's grasp. I had started making sandwiches for lunch (the extent of my cooking abilities), when I heard a noise that I couldn't really be hearing. Dylan and I looked at each other, recognizing a sound that we hadn't heard in almost six years. We weren't doing the Macarena and those weren't maracas. Those were rattles…from snakes…kinda. "Max, you've gotta get out of here." Dylan rushed, looking frantically for an escape. "And go where, Dylan?" I asked sharply. If I left they would just follow me…to Jeb's house, or my house, Timbuktu. These things didn't give up and they definitely wouldn't leave me alive. I would have to fight. I had no choice. "Max, what the Hell are you doing? My head is killing me and that noise isn't helping!" Nudge complained sleepily, making her way down the hall. They had to be close, if they were loud enough to wake Nudge up. I counted the one lucky star I might have left that Mom had already gone to work. "It's not us. It's snakes, Nudge. And it sounds like there's a lot of them." I muttered.

I'd like to just take a moment to take stock of our current situation. Nudge was high on the sedative my mom gave her. I was pregnant, and while I could physically fight still Nudge and Dylan wouldn't let me. Dylan was here and he was ready to go. And the snakes? Peering out the window, I'd guess there were 20 or 25 of them. And Fang was still nowhere to be found. I saw a starkness cross Dylan's face and recognized it immediately. He was going into leader mode, just like he always did when I couldn't. And that's why he had been my "perfect other half", because when I couldn't do what needed to be done, he could. "Nudge, I need you to check Gazzy's room. We need any explosives that he has laying around, and knowing that kid there has to at least be a couple of them." Dylan ordered. Nudge nodded obediently but I could tell she was still dazed. "Max, you at least have to hide. Does your mom have a basement or a cellar, anything? Is there anywhere you could go where they wouldn't find you?" He asked desperately. "No. There's nowhere like that, and even if there was, I'm not hiding." I replied coldly. Maximum Ride didn't run away. Unless she absolutely had to in order to survive. I could tell by the look on his face that Dylan wanted to argue. "I will not hide like a coward while you and Nudge try to fight these things off all by yourself. You're part of the Flock…my Flock. And I see things through until the end." Adrenaline was pumping and I was fierce. "I will be careful…Actually, I have an idea." A thought crossed my mind quickly and I raced back to Nudge's room. I opened her closet door and it was sitting there. The bow and arrows that I had brought back for her from Japan. I took them, slinging the arrow holder over my shoulder like an evil cupid ready to do some damage. "I can get to the roof from the attic. From there I can jump up and help crowd control." I explained to Dylan, racing back to the living room. He and Nudge were taking stock of the explosives inventory. He nodded and approached me. "Max, please be careful. If not for me, then for them. Please." He pleaded, putting his hand on my stomach and leaning in to kiss my cheek. I felt Nudge glaring at me, but I didn't know how to explain the situation. Unless we sprang into action soon I would never have the opportunity.


	44. Cliffy

**I don't own Maximum Ride.**

I pulled myself through the attic and opened the trap door that led to the roof. I looked down to see how many we were dealing with. I didn't count one by one but worst case scenario it seemed like about 30. I saw their eyes zone in on me immediately and their pace quicken. I launched myself up from the roof floating in the air. I saw something fly out of my mom's front porch. A few seconds later the object exploded as four or five of the snakes were sent flying through the air. I took out the bow and an arrow and started on the front line. I started firing taking down as many as I could but it wasn't my weapon. I had never used one before and my aim was terrible, only hitting half of the shots that I put out, but at least I was doing something. I saw Dylan and Nudge on the ground fighting as hard as they could. I didn't know if it was because she hadn't fought in years or if it was due to the medication but Nudge was moving slower than she used to. Dylan on the other hand was moving faster than lightening, landing every single punch or kick that he threw out with blood gushing all over the place. If I didn't know better I would think that he continued fighting even after we had saved the world. I saw another bomb go flying through the air taking out a few more snakes. I was relieved to see that the numbers were dwindling, but were getting even angrier at the loss of their comrades. Nudge was doing okay, but still really out of it. Dylan was kicking ass without even bothering to take names. That's when I saw Nudge get knocked to the ground, her head hitting the dirt floor and bouncing up a little. Her eyes were still open, but you could tell she was fighting for consciousness. A snaked loomed over her, ready to strike. "NUDGE!" He shouted and did the last thing I ever expected him to do. He flung himself between them, the snake's fangs sinking into Dylan's ribs as he landed on Nudge.

Dylan laid in the dirt while Nudge pulled herself up and kept fighting, cussing, and screaming angrily. I kept flinging arrows from above. Luckily between the two of us we managed to take out the few that remained after Dylan's injury. He was lying face down and I rushed to his side when I landed. His eyes were half way open and his breathing shallow. He was losing more blood than I thought humanly…or birdly possible. "Nudge, go inside right now and call Mom. Tell her we need her. Ask her if there is any antivenin in the house. She'll know what it is and tell you where to find it. If there is some bring it and a syringe immediately." I ordered using the leader town I hadn't used in so very long. Nudge obeyed and began moving faster than when she was fighting. "Dylan, I'm going to move you over. It might hurt a little, but I need to see your injuries." I explained. He nodded a slight nod and I flipped him over, lifting up his shirt. I wasn't a doctor but I was pretty sure his injury was close to his lungs and his heart. "Max…" He began trying to talk and I rolled my eyes. "You are not on your deathbed and there will be no speech." I ordered sternly. I couldn't lose Fang and Dylan in one week. I couldn't take it. "Max, please. I know you don't feel the same way as I do and I wanted to tell you that's okay." He started. "Shut up right now! You aren't going to die because I won't let you." I screamed at him, my eyes roaming around trying to find Nudge. She came storming out of the house with her cell phone. She handed it to me with Mom on the other line. "Max, what's going on?" She asked frantically. "It was one of those snakes, just like before. It's going faster though, and his blood won't clot!" I rushed, still keeping track of Dylan's pulse. "I'm on my way. Get him in the house and wait for me." She ordered. "Hurry."

Nudge and I managed to get Dylan on the couch. Mom made it home in 20 minutes with the antivenin. She administered the drug but it took a while for the effects to show. Dylan was still clammy, feverish, and oozing blood, but he was conscious. "Nudge, can I talk to Max for a minute? Alone?" Dylan asked quietly. She nodded and I could see the frustration written on her face but she just marched to her room. Mom had already gone back to work with specific instructions to call if his progress did not improve. "Max, I realized something today. A near death experience gives you…clarity into your life." He began, weakly struggling for words. Maybe I could help him out. I cut him off, realizing that there was something I needed to tell him. "You're right. Dylan I almost panicked when I saw you like that and I realized something that was really hard to admit." I paused for a moment, amazed that the words were about to come out of my mouth. I'd never said them before. "Dylan. I need you."


	45. Really bad timing

**I don't own Maximum Ride. I would also appreciate it if some people *ahem! You know who you are!* retract your death threats after you read this chapter. LOL**

Dylan looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I paused letting him grasp that information before I got to explain it. "Dylan, when you showed up with Jeb saying that you were my perfect other half, I was so defensive that I didn't realize what that meant. Today I feel like I finally understood that. I had an idea the day that we brought down the School, but today it all makes perfect sense." Dylan looked like he wanted to interrupt me but I wasn't going to let him. "Dylan, you're my perfect other half because you do the things that I can't, and that was more important today than any other day. What I'm trying to say is that I need you…to lead The Flock."

Dylan resigned himself for a moment taking in everything that I had said. That's when I recognized the look on his face. Relief. "Max, I have to tell you something. I realized something today that I had never understood before. You love Fang." Um…duh. Where have you been for the past 6 years? He saw the confusion on my face and started to explain. "Max, what I'm telling you is that the way you feel about Fang is the way that I feel about you. And the way I think you feel about me…I think I feel that way…" He trailed off. "You feel that way about Nudge!" I realized happily. It was completely warped and sick but I understood what he meant. It was horrible to say but Dylan was my runner-up. Second place. He could never be Fang and he could never take Fang's place. After six years he was finally beginning to understand that! He nodded. "She's not you Max. I was made to love you. It's biological, as natural for me as breathing, but you don't feel the same way, and I understand that. But I've decided that I'm not going to let that stop me anymore. Maybe, over time I can love Nudge. It may not be the same way that I love you, but I think it could be good. And I want to give it a try." Hallelujah! "What do you say? Do I have your blessing?" He asked. "If you break her heart I will rip of your own arm and beat you with it. Are we clear on that?" I asked sternly. He nodded. "In that case, knock 'em dead." He laughed. I noticed his face had more color and he seemed to be feeling more himself. He held out his hand, getting me to pull him up from the couch. "Hug?" He asked, extending his arms. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his waist. He pulled me to his chest and for once, it wasn't awkward. He felt like a member of my Flock, as natural as hugging Iggy or Gazzy. I heard a growl behind me and turned around defensively getting ready to attack. "Get your hands off of my wife."

Fang was back! Sure, he had really bad timing. But Fang was back! I felt tears brimming in my eyes and I flung myself to him burying my head in his chest. "Don't you have something to do?" I asked Dylan sharply, my gaze turning to Nudge's room. He nodded guiltily and walked down the hall. He wasn't back up to 100% yet, but he was definitely better off than he was an hour ago. I looked up at Fang, still unable to believe that he was really there. I fell to my knees in sobs. He knelt down with me, keeping me in his arms the whole time and just like that everything in my world was right again.


	46. Replay

**For the almost last time I don't own Max. **

*Fang's POV*

Jeb and I came in through the back door, due to all the dead snakes in the front. We'd have to get rid of the bodies and I shuddered at the thought. I didn't know how they had done it, but the important thing was that they did. As much as I disliked Dylan I had to appreciate what he had done for my family. I knew he helped keep her safe. I opened the back door and walked into the kitchen seeing Dylan and Max in the living room. They were deep in conversation. I saw Max pull Dylan up from the couch. He extended his arms and to my surprise she accepted. I had been gone four days and this was what was going on! She wrapped her arms around his waist and I fought not to storm in and physically break the two of them apart. Instead I growled. "Get your hands off of my wife." Well, she would have been if Jeb hadn't gone missing. I was still in a blind rage as Max said something to Dylan, making him go down the hall and knock on Nudge's door. Interesting. I didn't think Max would have let them be in the same room. That's when she did it. She broke down in sobs and no matter how irritated I was when I got there and saw them together all of that had disappeared. I just held her as she cried, and though I would never say it out loud, I was fighting not to do the same. I was with my family again.

After Max stopped crying she and I sat on the couch. To my surprise she actually hugged Jeb and welcomed him back, even admitting to missing him. Maybe being pregnant was softening her up. I would never say that though for fear of death. She had filled me in on everything that happened and I had done the same. I rubbed her stomach while she talked. I'd only been gone four days, but she had gotten even bigger while I was gone. I couldn't help the sense of relief that came when she told me that Dylan was going to give Nudge a shot.

She explained to me the agreement that she and Dylan had come to. She had basically made him leader of The Flock, explaining that from here on out if anything needed to be done, he would do it. She was passing on the torch. Of course we would still be there to help if they needed it, but all leadership responsibilities had been passed on to him. That didn't bother me one bit. Our lives were changing and we were going to have different priorities. Speaking of priorities Dylan and Nudge emerged from her room a few minutes later, both of them beaming. About an hour later Gazzy and Angel made it home, and Iggy and Ella came over for dinner. All of us were together and I couldn't have been happier.


	47. Epilogue: The Morphine Incident

*Max's POV*

It was August and I was as big as a Beluga whale. I was miserable everything was swollen. I was going in to see Allison. "Well Max, how do you feel about August 6th?" She asked with a smirk. That was today's date. "Fine by me. Why?" I asked. "Because it's your babies' birthday. I scheduled a C-Section for you for 5pm. There haven't been any complications, but I think it's just safer that way. We don't want to risk damaging their wings with a normal birth. Is that okay by you?" Needles. Antiseptics. Scalpels. I gulped summoning all of my courage and looked at Fang who simply nodded in reassurance. "Let's do it."

By 7pm that night Fang and I were holding our two children. We still couldn't believe it, but we were so excited we couldn't stop smiling at each other either. Then again, maybe it was the Morphine making me smile like that. I heard a gentle knock on the door and saw Iggy, Ella, Nudge and Dylan peeking in. Angel and Gazzy had gone with my mom to get something to eat. They were nice enough to bring us dinner so we didn't have to eat hospital food.

"Oh my gosh! Max, they're so pretty! And so little! Why is she crying? Is she okay? Can I see her wings?" Nudge was interrupted by Dylan putting his finger to her lips in a shush motion. "Sorry." She blushed. Fang was holding our son, Jet. He was named after his hair, which was jet black, just like his dad's. Go figure. I was holding Amelia, our daughter. "How are you feeling?" Dylan asked with a smirk. Ever since he and Nudge had gotten together he was more like a brother to me than anything. "Ever see Alice in Wonderland?" I asked. He nodded with a confused face. "Like I fell through the rabbit hole. No pain though." I smiled goofily. "It's like the Valium thing all over again." Ella laughed. "''Cuz Dylan loves Nudge thiiiiis much!" I giggled. The whole room busted in laughter. I realized later how embarrassed I would have been if I hadn't been utterly messed up on Morphine. I played with my baby girl's hair and kept talking not completely aware of what I was saying. "I wonder what your kids will look like." I wondered out loud to Nudge and Dylan. I saw both of them turn bright red. Fang leaned over to me and whispered, "Not cool Max." The whole room laughed in response. I would have felt a lot more self conscious if that damn Morphine didn't work so well.

*In the future*

I looked at the picture in my hands. It was a picture of the day that I brought the twins home. I was sitting on the couch, holding one in each arm. Dylan was sitting next to me, leaning in and smiling. It was the perfect picture. Everything was just the way it should be. I smiled to myself and put it back on the mantle above my fireplace.

Right next to mine and Fang's wedding picture.

"Guys, it's time for bed." Fang said, corralling my two little bundles of energy. They were both in pajamas and ready for bed, while I was cleaning up the dinner table. "Okay Dad." Jet sighed. "What do you say to our guests?" I asked threateningly. Maximum Ride was teaching her kids manners. Be impressed people! The two kids tackled the two figures on the couch. "Goodnight!" They chorused. As they headed to their room Amelia stopped in the doorway. "Aunt Nudge? Uncle Dylan? Can you read us a story before we go to bed?" She asked sweetly. Nudge and Dylan just looked at each other and laughed.


End file.
